[NCham] Rep. Price Co-Sponsors HR 4270 (Amateur Radio bill)

[Gary Pearce KN4AQ]

I made two errors in the announcement - Eric's callsign is KG4CXW (not 
KG4CXR), and his name is spelled Haywood.  I've corrected the copy below 
for those of you picking up the story for a club newsletter.

Sorry!

Gary KN4AQ


Rep. Price Co-Sponsors HR 4270
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act

Thanks to efforts by Eric Haywood KG4CXW of Durham, Congressman David Price 
(D-NC) has agreed to co-sponsor the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications 
Consistency Act, H.R. 4270.  This bill would expand PRB-1 antenna 
protection to cover private "CC&R" contracts enforced by homeowners 
associations.  Price is the representative for North Carolina's 4th US 
Congressional District, covering most of the Triangle.

Introduced on May 14 by Rep Steve Israel (D-NY) at the request of the ARRL, 
H.R. 4720 consists of one sentence:

      For purposes of the Federal Communications Commission's
      regulation relating to station antenna structures in the
      Amateur Radio Service (47 CFR 97.15), any private land use
      rules applicable to such structures shall be treated as a
      state or local regulation and shall be subject to the same
      requirements and limitations as a state or local regulation.

More information on H.R. 4720 can be found on the ARRL web site:
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/05/14/102/

Haywood wrote to Rep. Price in early June, asking him to co-sponsor the 
bill.  Price responded with a concise analysis of the bill, showing that he 
understood it and its importance to Amateur Radio.  Price is a co-sponsor 
of the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act, H.R. 817, which is also 
currently before Congress.

Price was concerned, however, that "such a task would be more difficult 
than reasonably accommodating modern satellite television dishes, and I 
would like to know more about how reasonable accommodation might be defined 
in this case."

Haywood replied that accommodation wouldn't be that hard.  He said Amateurs 
are resourceful in ways to erect antennas that are difficult to see, but 
that when these antennas are eventually discovered in a "restricted" 
environment, the Amateur is forced to take them down.  He concluded, 
saying, "reasonable accommodation could be defined as 'anything other than 
outright refusal to work towards a reasonable and mutually beneficial 
agreement.'"

To this, Rep. Price responded, "I am convinced by your description of 
creative ways to accommodate the placement of amateur radio antennas in 
neighborhoods subject to private land use agreements.  As a result, I have 
decided to cosponsor H.R. 4720."

Sincerely,

DAVID PRICE
Member of Congress

The fate of H.R. 4720 is uncertain, of course.  Historically, Amateur Radio 
legislation has not fared well in Congrress, usually dying without action 
at the end of a congressional session.  This bill's chances will improve if 
all Amateurs write to their representatives asking them to support it by 
co-sponsorship.  ARRL President Jim Haynie W4JPB said, "It becomes 
important for all of us to write your congressman, call your congressman 
and voice your support.  This will have to be a grassroots effort, and 
we're going to pull out all the stops."

The ARRL requests that you send a copy of that mail to "ccr-bill@arrl.org."

Gary Pearce KN4AQ
NC Section Public Information Coordinator