Outdoor advertisers can start taking chain saws to trees that block their signs under legislation signed into law Thursday by Gov. Nathan Deal

House Bill 179 allows billboard owners to clear-cut trees on the public rights of way in front of their signs. The measure passed the Legislature this year after a decade-long battle between the industry and advocates of beautified highways.

Deal signed 115 other bills into law Thursday. Most were local legislation.

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In addition to being a political and religious leader, Bishop Reginald Jackson also served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Morris Brown College. (Ben Gray/AJC)

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Carleigh Knight (left) and her sister, Natalie Rogovin, look at Christmas ornaments while shopping at Kudzu Antiques + Modern in Decatur on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. (Natrice Miller/AJC)

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