[WIARC] $50 fee proposal

[n9jfcountyhunter at gmail.com]

I'm taking the liberty of forwarding this to the WIARC membership as I think
it's important:  My response is included at the end of the ARRL message.

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-fee
s
.  

A summary page of the proceeding can also be found online at,
http://www.arrl.org/FCC-Fees-Proposal .
NNNN
/EX

Response to $50 Amateur Radio Licensing Fee
From: Jim Funk N9JF  2742 N 230 Ave Liberty IL 62347 n9jf at arrl.net
217/617-9881
To Whom it may concern:
I would like to register my strong objections to the $50 licensing fee being
proposed for amateur radio licenses.
The amateur service is a VOLUNTEER service.  
One of its primary purposes (stated and observed) is public service.
The Amateur Service provides an entry into other valuable technical services
that benefit the public through technological development and advancement.
Many amateur radio licensees are young people (some as young as 7 or 8 years
of age) who have been drawn to the service by their interest in technology,
international goodwill, and public service.
Many other licensees are retirees whose contributions have been, and
continue to be, monumental.
A licensing fee of $50 for new, renewed and modified amateur radio licenses
is burdensome, onerous, unnecessary and counterproductive.  It flies in the
face of maintaining and enhancing a voluntary public service that is
dedicated to technological advancement and international goodwill.
Please abandon the plans for this licensing fee.
Best regards, Jim Funk N9JF