01/12/2016
During a January 12 Capitol Hill hearing, US House Subcommittee on
Communications and Technology Chair Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), called the
Amateur Radio Parity Act "a commonsense bill" and urged his colleagues to
support it. H.R. 1301 was one of four telecoms bills that came before his
panel.
"As a ham radio operator, I'm acutely aware of the passion that Amateur Radio
operators have for their service," Walden told the subcommittee. "Despite its
widespread use and importance in times of emergencies, land-use restrictions in
some areas have prioritized esthetics over the rights of hams. H.R. 1301 seeks
to ensure that Amateur Radio operators get a fair shake and protection from
unnecessary bans on their equipment by instructing the FCC to adopt rules to
this end."
Walden said he's aware of suggestions that the bill would open the door to 40
foot towers in townhome backyards. "That's not the case," he assured his
subcommittee colleagues. "Ham equipment can be as small as over-the-air digital
television antennas becoming popular with 'cord cutters.' I'm sure that Amateur
Radio operators' communications deserve no less protection than access to prime
time television."
In his remarks, the bill's sponsor, Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), pointed out that
most House members have a few hundred radio amateurs living in their districts.
He explained that hams in some neighborhoods "are outright prohibited" from
erecting antennas on their properties, "even as small as a 4 millimeter
diameter wire that might be placed under an awning or laid flat against the
house."
Kinzinger cited Amateur Radio's role in emergency communication support and
noted the comments of FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ, to the effect
that when conventional communication systemss go down, Amateur Radio is often
the last line of defense.
Kinzinger said his bill's "reasonable accommodation standard" would not mandate
placement, size, or esthetics regarding an outdoor antenna, leaving ham radio
operators and homeowners associations to decide those issues.
"We just simply add the same standard that has been used successfully in
municipal areas to other areas," he concluded.
HR 1301 would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable
accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private land-use
restrictions, such as deed covenants, conditions, and restrictions. The bill
has attracted 116 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. An identical US
Senate measure, S. 1685, has attracted 3 cosponsors. It cleared the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation last November.
More information[1] about the legislation is on the ARRL Amateur Radio Parity
Act web page.
[1] http://www.arrl.org/amateur-radio-parity-act
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