[SFDXA] ARLB031 ARRL Urges Members to Join in Strongly Opposing FCC's Application Fees Proposal

[Bill]

> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB031
> ARLB031 ARRL Urges Members to Join in Strongly Opposing FCC's
> Application Fees Proposal
> 
> ZCZC AG31
> QST de W1AW  
> ARRL Bulletin 31  ARLB031
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington CT  October 28, 2020
> To all radio amateurs 
> 
> SB QST ARL ARLB031
> ARLB031 ARRL Urges Members to Join in Strongly Opposing FCC's
> Application Fees Proposal
> 
> ARRL will file comments in firm opposition to an FCC proposal to
> impose a $50 fee on amateur radio license and application fees. With
> the November 16 comment deadline fast approaching, ARRL urges
> members to add their voices to ARRL's by filing opposition comments
> of their own. The FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) MD Docket
> 20-270 appeared in the October 15 edition of The Federal Register
> and sets deadlines of November 16 to comment and November 30 to post
> reply comments, which are comments on comments already filed.
> 
> The NPRM can be found online at, https://tinyurl.com/yyk8f2yp .
> 
> ARRL has prepared a Guide to Filing Comments with the FCC which
> includes tips for preparing comments and step-by-step filing
> instructions. File comments on MD Docket 20-270 using the FCC's
> Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).  The instructions can be
> found online at, http://www.arrl.org/FCC-Fees-Proposal .
> 
> Under the proposal, amateur radio licensees would pay a $50 fee for
> each amateur radio application for new licenses, license renewals,
> upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. The
> FCC also has proposed a $50 fee to obtain a printed copy of a
> license. Excluded are applications for administrative updates, such
> as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees. Amateur Service
> licensees have been exempt from application fees for several years.
> 
> The FCC proposal is contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
> (NPRM) in MD Docket 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions
> of the "Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern
> Services Act" of 2018 - the so-called "Ray Baum's Act." The Act
> requires that the FCC switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee
> structure to a cost-based system of assessment. In its NPRM, the FCC
> proposed application fees for a broad range of services that use the
> FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS), including the Amateur Radio
> Service. The 2018 statute excludes the Amateur Service from annual
> regulatory fees, but not from application fees. The FCC proposal
> affects all FCC services and does not single out amateur radio.
> 
> ARRL is encouraging members to file comments that stress amateur
> radio's contributions to the country and communities. ARRL's Guide
> to Filing Comments includes "talking points" that may be helpful in
> preparing comments. These stress amateur radio's role in
> volunteering communication support during disasters and emergencies,
> and inspiring students to pursue education and careers in
> engineering, radio technology, and communications.
> 
> As the FCC explained in its NPRM, Congress, through the Ray Baum's
> Act, is compelling regulatory agencies such as the FCC to recover
> from applicants the costs involved in filing and handling
> applications.
> 
> In its NPRM the FCC encouraged licensees to update their own
> information online without charge. Many, if not most, Amateur
> Service applications may be handled via the largely automated
> Universal License Service (ULS). The Ray Baum's Act does not exempt
> filing fees in the Amateur Radio Service, and the FCC stopped
> assessing fees for vanity call signs several years ago.
> 
> See also "FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees,"
> reported by ARRL in August, at,
> http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-proposes-to-reinstate-amateur-radio-service-fees
> .  
> 
> A summary page of the proceeding can also be found online at,
> http://www.arrl.org/FCC-Fees-Proposal .
> NNNN
> /EX