A purple paint law? Senate backs bill to replace ‘no trespassing’ signs

Georgia property owners could throw away their "no trespassing" signs and instead paint trees and fence posts purple, under legislation passed unanimously Wednesday by the state Senate.

Senate Bill 159, sponsored by freshman state Sen. Lee Anderson, R-Grovetown, doesn't ban anyone from using the familiar signs, but instead adds purple paint to the state's criminal trespass law as an alternative way to signal private property.

It’s a method that’s been around since 1989, and is now used by nearly a dozen states including Texas, Arkansas and Illinois.

Why purple paint? It wasn’t used by the forestry industry, shows well in the outdoors and is one of the few colors that can be identified by someone who is color blind.

The bill now goes to the state House for consideration.

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Kristina Torres

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