State Senator Andy Dinniman is attempting to make changes to the 45 year old law which governs where billboards can be placed in the State, writes David Madden for CBS Philly.

His latest initiative has been prompted by electronic billboards that are causing issues in two locations.

“One has been put up in the Downingtown area which has lit up a whole neighborhood and has outraged the citizens,” said Dinniman. “Another’s been proposed down in the southern part of the county in rural agricultural land,” on route 1 in Lower Oxford Township.

So far, four states and several cities have eliminated electronic billboards altogether. Dinniman’s bill would give municipalities more control when deciding where they could be placed.

This type of campaign is not unusual for the Chester County native, as he has long been leading the charge on preserving open space.

“We have spent millions of dollars to preserve open space in our historic towns and we’re not about ready to let these new electronic billboards destroy everything that we have worked over the years to create,” he commented.

During a recent hearing in Downingtown, Dinniman along with other Senate Democrats gathered information from local residents on the issue. According to Dinniman, the question of better regulation for electronic billboards has now spread from Philadelphia and its suburbs all the way to the outskirts of Pittsburgh.

The proposed changes will most likely get presented in Harrisburg next year, after the start of the new legislative session.

Read more about the proposed changes here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of Senator Dinniman here.