Highway Beautification Act (1965)
Congress passed the law, championed by Lady Bird Johnson, restricting billboards along the nation's federally funded highways. States that failed to control signs risked losing 10% of federal highway funds.
Many existing signs were grandfathered or compensated for removal, and states adopted sign-control programs to keep highway funding.
Established that off-premise signs are a regulated land use subject to government oversight, not an unfettered property right, under which local permits like Las Vegas's U-0033-88 operate.
The Las Vegas review operates in this regulatory tradition: a 38-year-old special use permit is being revisited by the city council to confirm the billboard still complies with current land use standards.
