As Los Angeles City Hall leaders consider passing new billboard rules, sign companies and their employees have given more than $100,000 this election season in support of City Council candidates and ballot measures.

Councilman Jose Huizar, who is running for re-election on the city’s Eastside and chairs the committee tasked with overseeing billboard laws, has been the biggest beneficiary. Lamar Advertising, a Louisiana-based firm, is spending $26,500 on billboards promoting the councilman, according to city filings.

Lamar has also donated $10,000 to a campaign backing a shift in city election dates, while Clear Channel Outdoor has given $25,000 to the same group.

Billboard companies and their employees regularly spend during city elections. As long as they don’t coordinate with a candidate’s campaigns, companies such as Lamar can spend unlimited amounts of money during an election.

The latest round of support comes as city officials weigh new billboard laws, raising concerns from critics of City Hall’s sign policies.

Barbara Broide, a member of the watchdog group Ban Billboard Blight, called the financial support “deeply troubling.”

“Are we supposed to think that these council members will be objective?” Broide asked.

In a statement, Huizar said he’s already pushed for tougher sign restrictions in the proposed ordinance.

“I’ve been strong in my opposition to sign proliferation in our residential communities,” Huizar said, adding that he is endorsed by the Sierra Club.

Lamar has also put up signs supporting five other City Council candidates: Nury Martinez, Mitch Englander, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Paul Krekorian and Herb Wesson.

“We support candidates who appreciate our values, like free speech, advertising and (being) pro-business,” said Hal Kilshaw, Lamar’s vice president of governmental relations.

Lamar backs passage of Charter Amendments 1 and 2, which align city election dates with presidential and gubernatorial elections, because the measures will bring more voters to the polls, Kilshaw said.

Clear Channel Outdoor spokeswoman Fiona Hutton echoed that sentiment, saying the sign company contributed because the two measures will increase voter participation.

The campaign support comes as the industry seeks passage of new laws governing signage.

Los Angeles Advertising Coalition, which represents Outfront Media (formerly CBS Outdoor), Clear Channel Outdoor and Lamar, wants City Hall to pass laws that would allow digital billboards to be put up in return for taking down numerous static displays, coalition spokeswoman Stacy Miller said.

Miller said the billboard companies want “sign modernization.”

Digital billboards are also considered more lucrative for sign companies since numerous advertisements can be shown.

Clear Channel Outdoor’s 2014 earnings report stated the company lost $34 million last year in its Americas outdoor advertising market revenues, in part because it was forced to shutter dozens of digital billboards in Los Angeles following a 2013 court decision.

The latest proposal is expected to return to Huizar’s committee in the next few months. Some sections of the city could have “sign districts” under the plan, said senior city planner Tom Rothmann. Those districts could potentially have digital signs, he said.

City Councilman Paul Koretz has been a persistent opponent of billboards and rarely gets donations from sign companies, he said.

Asked if he thinks billboard industry contributions influence his colleagues, Koretz replied: “Usually it’s a waste of money, but you never know.”