This webpage provides educational information for Round Rock residents in light of a proposed City Charter amendment related to electronic billboards, which will appear on the May 2026 General Election ballot as “Proposition A.” If you are looking for information on the proposed City Charter amendment related to fire department staffing levels and performance objectives, view the Prop B – Fire Department Staffing and Performance Objectives page.
The petition for Proposition A was submitted to the City in November 2025 by an individual named Bill Clifton. It proposes amending the City’s Charter to allow up to twelve (12) privately owned, operated, and funded freestanding, off-premise, double-faced electronic signs along IH-35 and SH-45 within the City of Round Rock and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
The City completed its verification process and confirmed that the petition meets the requirements of state law, including the required number of valid signatures from qualified Round Rock voters. As a result, the City Council approved ballot language for the proposed charter amendment at its Jan. 22 City Council meeting. The measure will appear on the ballot for the election to be held on May 2, 2026 in accordance with the Texas Local Government Code.
Ballot Language
The ballot language for the proposed amendment is the following:
PROPOSITION A
SHALL THE HOME RULE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS, BE AMENDED TO ADD SECTION 14.16 TO ARTICLE 14 TO ALLOW UP TO TWELVE (12) PRIVATELY OWNED, OPERATED, AND FUNDED FREESTANDING OFF-PREMISE DOUBLE-FACED ELECTRONIC MESSAGE CENTERS LOCATED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY ADJACENT TO INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 35 AND STATE HIGHWAY 45 WITHIN THE CITY AND ITS EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION; REQUIRE PRIORITY PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGING; AND LIMIT REGULATION OF LOCATION, SIZE, AND SPACING TO STANDARDS ADOPTED BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION?
YES ____
NO ____
Proposed Amendment Language
The language below is the full text of the proposed Charter amendment based on the petition submitted to the City:
Sec. 14.16. – Permanent freestanding off-premise electronic message centers.
a) To enhance the economic vitality of the local government and businesses and help protect the health, safety and welfare of Round Rock citizens and the traveling public, a maximum of twelve (12) new privately owned, operated, and funded freestanding off-premise double-faced electronic signs (“EMCs”) shall be permitted on private property adjacent to Interstate Highway 35 and State Highway 45 in the City of Round Rock and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
b) All EMCs shall be capable of displaying timely information regarding (i) Amber Alerts; (ii) Silver Alerts; (iii) public safety and emergency alerts regarding, but not limited to, natural disasters, threatening weather, terrorist attacks, chemical spills, train derailment, industrial and transportation accidents, mass shootings, and other emergencies, as may be required by designated officials of the City of Round Rock. All EMCs shall be capable of displaying public services and other community and non-profit announcements and messages as it may be requested by designated officials, to the extent such announcements and messages do not interfere with contractual commitments for privately sponsored messaging such being necessary to fund the installation and maintenance of the EMCs without the need for taxpayer or any other governmental funds. Emergency messages shall always preempt privately sponsored messages and have top priority.
c) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Home Rule Charter or Code of Ordinances of the City of Round Rock, in order to be considered complete, all EMC permit applications must include a copy of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) approved permits for the proposed sign, and all EMCs shall be required to comply only with the regulatory standards imposed by the administrative rules adopted by TxDOT governing the location, size, and spacing of commercial and electronic signs, provided that the City of Round Rock may assess a permit fee for each EMC equal to that charged by TxDOT.
About Charter Amendments
The City of Round Rock is a home-rule city, meaning it operates under a City Charter that functions as the City’s local constitution. The Charter establishes the City’s form of government, the powers of City Council and certain foundational rules that guide how the City is governed.
A Charter amendment is a change to that governing document. Under Texas law, amendments to a home-rule charter may only be adopted by voter approval at an election. Once approved, the amendment becomes part of the Charter and has legal authority that supersedes ordinances and administrative regulations adopted by City Council, provided it does not conflict with state or federal law.
History of Billboard-related Petitions in Round Rock
This is the second time in recent years that a petition for a Charter amendment has been submitted to the City of Round Rock with this language.
In 2022 and early 2023, MediaChoice advertising company engaged with City of Round Rock officials about the company’s desire to construct new electronic billboards. The City Council did not indicate any intention to reverse the City’s current ban on new off-premises signs and billboards.
A petition was circulated in late 2023 by a Political Action Committee (PAC) named “Keep Round Rock Safe,” and, on Dec. 23, 2023, the City of Round Rock received a charter amendment petition from the Keep Round Rock Safe PAC that aimed to allow “a maximum of twelve (12) new privately-owned, operated, and funded freestanding off-premise double-faced electronic signs” along IH-35 and SH-45 within the City of Round Rock and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).
On Jan. 17, 2024, the City announced that the petition did not meet the required threshold of valid signatures. Of the 4,190 signatures submitted, 2,798 were found to be valid, short of the 3,189 signatures required (5% of qualified voters). The majority of invalid signatures were from individuals residing outside Round Rock city limits.
Q&A
Has the City considered allowing electronic billboards in the past?
MediaChoice solicited meetings with City leaders as early as 2022. The topic of new electronic billboards was discussed in general at the City Council Retreat in January of 2023. No desire was expressed by the Round Rock City Council to reverse the prohibition of off-premises signs or billboards. A lack of desire for staff to propose changes was reaffirmed at the City Council retreat in July 2023.
In the City of Round Rock’s 2024 Community Survey, 77% of respondents said they would prefer fewer billboards in Round Rock, while 21% preferred about the same number and 2% preferred more.
What are Electronic Message Center signs, or “EMC signs?”
EMC signs are Electronic Message Center signs. EMCs are currently regulated by the Sign Code and disallowed in many forms. It is important to note that Section 8-81. – Prohibited signs supersedes EMC regulation throughout the rest of the sign code. (For clarity, EMC signs are a technology, billboards are a type of sign, and off-premises signs are a type of communication.)
The code does not allow for “off-premises signs unless otherwise specifically permitted by this chapter” and also has a prohibition on “billboard signs.” Freestanding EMCs are allowed as long as they comply with Section 8-78 – Freestanding sign standards (g).
Are electronic billboard signs currently allowed in Round Rock?
No new billboards are being permitted in the City of Round Rock, as they are prohibited.
Offsite advertising, whether electronic or not, is regulated by ARTICLE IX – SIGNS of the City of Round Rock ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT CODE. The purpose for this regulation is laid out in Section. 8-70 – Purpose:
(2) To protect and enhance the physical appearance of the community in a lawful manner by:
a. Providing standards for the appropriate design, scale and placement of signs;
b. Satisfying the community’s desires for signs that are attractive.
Are there any existing billboards in Round Rock’s City limits?
Yes — there is one. On Dec. 5, 2013, City Council passed an “Agreement to Eliminate Non-Conforming Billboards with Lamar Advantage Holding Company.” In this agreement, “the City and Lamar have reached an agreement whereby Lamar will remove two existing non-conforming billboards in exchange for the City permitting Lamar to upgrade one existing billboard to a digital display.” Before this agreement, Lamar owned three non-conforming billboards, and today, one EMC billboard remains on southbound IH-35.
The proposed amendment includes wording regarding public safety and emergency alerts. What systems are currently in place to alert the public about emergencies?
Article IX – SIGNS, Section 8-72(a)(2) currently exempts “Any public purpose/safety sign, including regulatory signs, and any other notice or warning required by federal, state or local law, regulation or resolution.” This allows for Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)-controlled electronic signs along IH-35 that currently display information relating to AMBER Alerts, Silver Alerts and other public safety messages important to motorists along IH-35.
Texas is part of the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) which features a national Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system that delivers qualified WEA alerts, such as AMBER Alerts directly to capable cellphones in specific geographic areas. These alerts have a unique sound and vibration so that all recipients, including those with disabilities, receive notification.
Round Rock also participates in “Warn Central Texas” through the Capital Area Council of Governments to allow residents, business owners and other interested parties to sign up for geographically-specific alerts via telephone and text directly from government agencies in the event of a local emergency.
Round Rock also uses social media, news media relations and the City’s website to broadly distribute information in the event of an emergency.
What would be the financial impact of the proposed Charter amendment?
The proposed amendment text states the EMCs would be “privately owned, operated, and funded,” and that installation/maintenance would be funded through privately sponsored messaging “without the need for taxpayer or any other governmental funds.” The amendment text also states the City “may assess a permit fee for each EMC equal to that charged by TxDOT.”
To learn more about the May 2 elections, visit www.roundrocktexas.gov/elections.
