[KYHAM] Re: HB 9

[Ron Dodson]

Below is the text of my message to my local rep and fellow ham, Gerry
Lynn for the 27th District. Anyone not knowing what to say to their reps
are welcome to borrow from the facts below.

73, 
Ron, KA4MAP

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Representative Gerald Lynn (R) House District 27

Gerry:

I am writing in regard to HB 9 concerning cell phones.  There is an
exemption for "Citizen's Band", but nothing for amateur radio. Being a
licensed amateur yourself, I know that you know the difference.

Here are a few facts that you might share with your fellow
representatives regarding what amateurs have done for Kentucky in 2005.

In 2005, we, the amateurs of the Kentucky Section, reported a total of
1,148 nets for 7,045.34 man hours.  We had 68 Public Service Events
totaling 1,729.95 man hours. These covered a variety of services from
communications at parades, community and charity events to Halloween
Overpass Watches in association with local authorities to community
disaster preparedness functions. The year 2005 was a quiet year with
only 29 Emergency Communications Responses totaling 1,717.05 man hours.
The majority of communications emergencies were weather related as
usual. Many resulted from efforts related to the hurricanes, which
struck the Gulf Coast in what proved to be a record setting year. Many
of these operations utilizing amateur radio communications support
in-state ranged from disaster traffic in and out of the affected Gulf
areas to communications support for National Disaster Medical System
evacuees flown into Kentucky hospitals for treatment. Many man hours
were also involved in operations at temporary shelters set up for
evacuees being brought into various parts of our state. Though Kentucky
had a minimum of episodes of severe weather in 2005, those we had always
seemed to make up the difference! Spotter networks were fully activated
and provided important information to our NWS offices as tornadoes
ripped into several areas of the state in the last months of 2005.
Kentucky amateurs also responded for an oil spill into a waterway and
for disruption of telephone service to some northern Kentucky E-911
centers. This adds up to 1,243 on the air operations for 2005 and
10,492.34 man hours! 

Furthermore, over the past seven years, Kentucky amateurs have been
involved in 7,849 nets, public service events and emergency operations!
These total 176,824.82 man hours of efforts toward public service,
preparedness and response efforts for the citizens of Kentucky! Let's
now take this one step further, if one were to calculate the cost burden
this would have placed on the tax payers of Kentucky to have had to PAY
for these communications support services in terms of both labor AND
communications equipment it is easy to see that amateur radio is quite
different than Citizen's Band".

Thanks for your time. We look forward to seeing you when you get back to
Meade County.

73, 
Ron, KA4MAP