SB QST @ ARL $ARLB004
ARLB004 ARRL Board outlines ambitious legislative agenda
ZCZC AG04
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 4 ARLB004
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT February 3, 2005
To all radio amateurs
SB QST ARL ARLB004
ARLB004 ARRL Board outlines ambitious legislative agenda
Frigid New England temperatures and a major snowstorm failed to
chill enthusiasm as the ARRL Board of Directors met January 21-22 in
Windsor, Connecticut, to tackle a lengthy agenda. ARRL President Jim
Haynie, W5JBP, chaired the gathering. Among the highlights of the
session was the Board's unanimous adoption of positions on six
initiatives for the 109th Congress. The list included a call for
''consistent application'' of the FCC's limited federal preemption
policy--PRB-1--to Amateur Radio antenna systems. The League wants
PRB-1 to apply to ''all types of land use regulations,'' public and
private. That would include deed covenants, conditions and
restrictions (CC&Rs).
''The American Radio Relay League seeks congressional instruction to
the FCC to extend its limited preemption policy governing
residential Amateur Radio antennas, so that private land-use
authorities cannot preclude, but must reasonably accommodate,
Amateur Radio communications in subdivisions and communities,'' the
Board resolved. After the FCC declined to include CCRs under the
PRB-1 umbrella, the League since 2002 has initiated bills in
Congress to accomplish the same end.
In addition, the Board expressed support for measures to improve
federal management of telecommunications, including beefing up the
FCC's ability to regulate transmitter, receiver and antenna issues
and resolve electromagnetic interference. The Board also wants
public service allocations, including Amateur Radio's, exempted from
auction or commercial reallocation, and compensatory spectrum
whenever the federal government reallocates existing public service
spectrum to another service. The resolution reflected the essence of
the ''Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2004,'' HR 713. An
identical bill will be introduced into the 109th Congress.
Calling amateur frequencies ''the technological equivalent of a
national park,'' the Board further resolved to support measures that
''preserve and protect'' primary Amateur Radio access to existing
amateur spectrum ''as a natural resource for the enjoyment of all
properly licensed individuals, and protect against interference from
unlicensed transmitters such as Part 15 devices'' operating on
amateur frequencies.
Finally, the Board expressed support for requiring the FCC to
develop effective, mandatory standards for radio frequency
susceptibility of consumer electronic devices. And it expressed
general opposition to expansion of current prohibitions against the
reception of radio signals beyond those already on the books.
In a related vein, the Board affirmed support for the ARRL
Grassroots Legislative Action Plan and called for its immediate
implementation. Hudson Division Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, says
the Grassroots Legislative Action Plan will function mainly by
direct contacts with lawmakers in their members' home districts and
by motivating legislative support through letter writing by members.
Additional details on the January Board meeting are on the ARRL Web
site, www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/01/27/1/. The minutes of the
Board meeting are on the ARRL Web site,
www.arrl.org/announce/board-0501/.
NNNN
/EX
