[Alexandria Radio Club Reflector] SB74 Update

Wed Jan 17 23:47:18 EST 2018

I copied the text below from the
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/?ref=group_header>
ARES/RACESofVA Facebook page.

SB 74 Senate Bill that concerned the use of Amateur Radio while driving has
been amended to EXEMPT Amateur Radio . The bill was passed by the
Transportation committee at 2 45 pm today.

Dr Joe Palsa ARRL Virginia Section Manager.

Don, KI4D

From: Don Lewis (KI4D) [mailto:ki4d at arrl.net] 
Sent: Friday, January 5, 2018 12:47 AM
To: alexandriaradioclub at mailman.qth.net
Subject: SB74 Update with ARC Talking Point Paper

Attached is a talking points paper approved by the ARC committee working on
the SB74 issue. The paper is intended to provide a handy and concise
reference for discussions about the current problems with the SB74 bill.  

In addition to sending letters, emails, and making phone calls about this
bill, there are a couple tight deadline opportunities to speak out about the
bill.  Public testimony regarding General Assembly matters may be given on
Saturday, January 6th at the Fairfax County Government Center.  Registration
by noon on January 5th is required.  General information and registration
information may be obtained on the website
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/countyexec/genassemblydelegation_publichearing
.  An opportunity for face-to-face meeting with Senator Surovell has been
promised by the Senator's office on January 20th, located at  Whitman Middle
School located at https://goo.gl/maps/ysjaWZAYNsD2.  This meeting will be
after a townhall at the school which is scheduled to end at noon. The
Senator's  staffer invited us to meet with the Senator at a coffee shop
after the townhall meeting from around 12:30 to 2:00PM.  Anyone who lives in
District 36 is highly encouraged to attend.  I will also be attending this
meeting.

Don, KI4D

Additional Background:

SB74 has spurred a huge amount  of interest in the ham radio community, see
information below that was copied from the ARES/RACESofVA Facebook page.
There are several suggestions that the ham radio community should have an
outreach to local sheriffs and police departments concerning this bill
because of the difficulty of enforcing the bill. 

For additional information that may be helpful when discussing this subject
legislators is attached and enclosed as follows:

n  Attached are New York State laws on distracted driving that can be used
as a model.  It is worth noting that the state of New York has had a
distracted driving law in effect for several years which could serve as an
example since it has been tested in the courts.  It can be found on the
following link: http://www.safeny.ny.gov/phon-vt.htm.  Also see an opinion
issued by the state of New York DMV to the American Radio Relay League
concerning two-way mobile communications devices:
http://www.rcarc.org/images/NYS-DMV-Opinion.pdf.

n  Also worth noting are the following links which address the issue of
distracted driving:

How New Distracted Driving Laws Will Affect Your Business in Washington,
Oregon, and California - Day Wireless Blog

http://www.daywireless.com/blog/index.php/2017/09/28/how-new-distracted-driv
ing-laws-will-affect-your-business-in-washington-oregon-and-california/

Are Two-Way Radios Really Safer Than Cell Phones When Driving? - Day
Wireless Blog

http://www.daywireless.com/blog/index.php/2015/07/24/are-two-way-radios-real
ly-safer-than-cell-phones-when-driving/ 

Text below was copied from the
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/?ref=group_header>
ARES/RACESofVA Facebook page.

============================================================================
=========

<https://www.facebook.com/greg.butler.7946?fref=gs&hc_ref=ARR62ksgX3gQW0abGR
fujzY9_OFU41uL9ZcwsucUEf9eA_H-WpduXpw7_412CYxNuVQ&dti=101756496822770&hc_loc
ation=group> Greg Butler

 <https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/admins/> Admin .
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/permalink/580784348919980/>
December 31, 2017 at 5:02pm . tag
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/post_tags/?post_tag_id=5817
43818824033&ref=story_subtitle> SB74,
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/post_tags/?post_tag_id=5817
43742157374&ref=story_subtitle> Legislation

SB74 Update:
I just received an email from Senator Surovell's office (the bill's author),
pasted in its entirety below. IMHO, the response is entirely inadequate. I
encourage anyone in his Fairfax/Prince William district to testify at the
hearings mentioned in the letter.

Hello,

Thank you for contacting our office about Senate Bill 74. Senator Surovell
appreciated your feedback on this issue along with many others who have
reached out about this.

After reviewing the issue and the legislative activity from last year,
Senator Surovell intends to propose the following language to outline an
exemption for HAM radio users: "(i) while participating in emergency
communications or drills on behalf of federal, state, or local authorities
or (ii) while providing communications services to localities for public
service events authorized by the Department of Transportation where the
event is being conducted." This was language agreed to by the House
Transportation Committee in deliberations last year.

We understand that this is not the full exemption that you advocated for but
please know that we appreciate your feedback, will continue to engage with
stakeholders moving forward, and the final language will be up to the
legislature subject to the Governor's review.

Senator Surovell also asked me to encourage you to testify on this issue at
the Prince William or Fairfax Legislative hearing if you are a resident of
one of those counties. He is also able to meet with you for 15 minutes on
January 20 in the afternoon if you would like to discuss the issue further.

Thank you,
Philip
Philip Scranage
Legislative Aide
Senator Scott Surovell, 36th District
District Office: 571.249.4484
Richmond Office: 804.698.7636

<https://www.facebook.com/greg.butler.7946?fref=gs&hc_ref=ARR2_Y8vadLTnr9wKF
jp1joLvCy3f-90PbbQt46RFL9iWzbCcaQ-TLRo95gNTrQ1AQU&dti=101756496822770&hc_loc
ation=group> Greg Butler

 <https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/admins/> Admin .
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/permalink/582179272113821/>
20 hrs . tag
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/post_tags/?post_tag_id=5817
43818824033&ref=story_subtitle> SB74,
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/101756496822770/post_tags/?post_tag_id=5817
43742157374&ref=story_subtitle> Legislation

More on SB74 (Fairfax County hams take note):
I just finished meeting with my county sheriff, where I gave him a copy of
the proposed legislation. He agreed that the language did not make much
sense and would present enforcement issues re: CB versus Amateur Radio. He
mentioned that, while he is happy to call our local legislative
representative, he is no longer on the legislative committee of the Virginia
Sheriffs' Association ( <https://vasheriff.org/about-vsa/vsa-committees/>
https://vasheriff.org/about-vsa/vsa-committees/). He recommended that
amateurs in the counties represented on the committee contact their sheriff
to solicit support for our desire for a blanket waiver. He specifically
mentioned Sheriff Stacey Kincaid of Fairfax County as someone active, and in
the bill's author's district. So, let's get sheriffs on our side. They could
wield some actual clout.

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