The ARRL Board of Directors Legislative Advocacy Committee is in the process of drafting a new bill to address the issue of private land-use restrictions on amateur radio antennas. The proposed legislation would be the successor to the Amateur Radio Parity Act. The Legislative Advocacy Committee, chaired by Pacific Division Director Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, will report to the Board soon, once plans are fleshed out. Tiemstra told the ARRL Executive Committee (EC) on October 12 in Aurora, Colorado, that Advocacy Committee members have traveled to Washington to meet on multiple occasions with members of Congress and their staffs to inform them of the committee’s plans.

ARRL Washington Counsel Dave Siddall, K3ZJ, told the EC last month that he understands the conditional exemption of amateur radio licensees from the RF exposure measurement requirements in the FCC’s Part 97 Amateur Service rules is proposed to be removed. A Report and Order in FCC Docket WT 13-84 is making the rounds that, if adopted, would make amateur licensees subject to the same requirements as all other FCC licensees. The Report and Order is expected to be released before year’s end.

Siddall also reported to the EC that the FCC is poised to address the 60-meter band amateur allocation adopted at World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15). The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), on behalf of US government primary users of the band, has insisted that the maximum permitted power for radio amateurs must not exceed that agreed to at WRC-15 — 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) or 9.1 W ERP — despite the fact that Canada has authorized its amateur licensees to use 100 W, and eliminate the current discrete channels, which ARRL’s petition proposed to retain. NTIA oversees federal government frequency allocations and users.

Minutes of the October 12 Executive Committee meeting were posted this week on the ARRL website.