[ARRL-OK] Fw: ARRL Update on Legislation

[Eddie Manley]

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Taken from the ARRL Web Site - 04/14/07 - K5EMS
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Political Maneuver Dims Chances for Arizona Ham Radio Antenna Legislation

NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 13, 2007 -- A political maneuver has ended chances that Arizona lawmakers will adopt an Amateur Radio antenna bill that was in play this session. Proponents of "the Emergency Communications Preservation Act," House Bill 2595 (HB 2595) haven't given up, however. They're still trying, as one put it, "to pull a rabbit out of a hat" and have the bill's language attached to another piece of legislation. HB 2595 called on both municipalities and communities governed by deed covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) to reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio antennas. It passed the Arizona House on a 56 to 2 vote. An eleventh-hour bid to keep HB 2595 alive failed, however, after Senate Government Committee Chairman Jack Harper (R-4), declined to move the bill forward for consideration, effectively killing it. During an e-mail exchange with a bill supporter, Harper attempted to explain why he derailed the measure.

"I just cannot allow the radio operaters [sic] to put up 40' towers over the objection of their neighbors," Harper told Dustin Deppe, K7DTD. "They were not open to negotiating the height, so I could not allow the bill to go forward. Jack." April 3 was the cutoff date for bills to be heard this session. Harper has not responded to an ARRL request to explain why he held the bill.

HB 2595 did not specify any particular minimum height beyond saying that homeowners' associations (HOAs) in CC&R-governed communities "shall provide for reasonable heights and dimensions for accommodation of amateur radio station emergency communications antennae and structures."

City of Page Mayor Dan Brown, NA7DB -- perhaps HB 2595's biggest supporter -- and former state representative Ted Downing, W7KEY, are in the forefront of the effort to pull off the magic trick. Brown has advised Arizona radio amateurs not to send "hate mail" to Harper, however. "It's important to educate," he said, not get angry. If the effort isn't successful, he says, bill proponents will return better prepared next session.

Amateur Radio antenna bills in Maryland and Oklahoma also failed to gain approval of lawmakers. In Maryland, essentially identical bills were under consideration in both legislative chambers: House Bill 941 (HB 941) and Senate Bill 68 (SB 68). "Our bill was voted down by the Senate committee, and we had it withdrawn from the House committee," ARRL Maryland-DC Section Manager Jim Cross, WI3N, told ARRL. "We will introduce it next year." The bills would have required local zoning authorities to comply with the PRB-1 limited federal pre-emption calling on municipalities to "reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio communication." Their provisions also would have applied to homeowners' associations (HOAs) that had not already enacted antenna restrictions by the time the bill became law.

In Oklahoma, House Bill 1037 (HB 1037) moved out of the General Government and Transportation Committee with a "do pass" recommendation, but it failed to be placed on the House calendar for a vote. Eddie Manley, K5EMS, who tracks FCC and governmental actions for the Oklahoma Section, has told ARRL the measure is likely dead for this year, although he left open the "very remote possibility" that it could be attached to another bill.

In North Carolina, an Amateur Radio antenna bill has been introduced in the state Senate this session, and a House bill is "in the works," ARRL North Carolina Section Manager Tim Slay, N4IB, told ARRL. "We're hoping to make some headway on it this year."

To date, 23 states have adopted PRB-1 legislation. While PRB-1 requires reasonable accommodation, it does not specify a minimum height below which local governments may not regulate. Four states -- Alaska, Wyoming, Virginia and Oregon -- have legislation in place that specifies antenna support structure heights, below which municipalities may not regulate.