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‘Purple Paint’ law goes into effect Sunday

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Sunday marks the day the “Purple Paint” law goes into effect in Indiana. This means, from Sunday on, instead of marking your private property with a “no trespassing “sign, you can mark it with a line of purple paint on a tree or a post.

“Back when I lived at home sometimes we’d see people and we’d go out and put up all of our no trespassing signs, and you wouldn’t make it through the first weekend here anything that’s easily reachable had already been torn off the trees,” said Justin Schneider, the Indiana Farm Bureau’s director of state government relations.

Schneider said using the line of purple paint is a more efficient way of marking private property. It can’t be torn down and according to the author of this law, more people will see it.

“It’s a simple way of people out in the country to show that certain property is off-limits instead of having no trespassing signs all over the place…they get shot up, taken down or whatever…purple paint’s a lot cheaper,” said State Representative Dave Wolkins. “You can paint your fence post, paint your trees, but it just simply says no trespassing, and it helps get trespassers because a lot of people will say ‘oh I didn’t see the sign’ or whatever.  They’ll see this and it’ll last for years.”

Wolkins said the lines can be painted on a tree or a post, but they must be at least three to five feet high and eight inches long.

No trespassing signs will still be valid under this new law, but Rep. Wolkins wants everyone to be on the lookout for the purple paint.