Amateur Radio Parity

Now that there is Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 legislation in both chambers of the US Congress, the League has a combined web page to accommodate activities on behalf of the two bills. The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 is H.R. 1301 in the US House of Representatives and S. 1685 in the US Senate. The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 page provides a clearing house for all information on these identical pieces of legislation.

US Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced H.R. 1301 on March 4 with bipartisan support. US Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced S. 1685 on June 26, with Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) as an original cosponsor.

The bill would require the FCC to amend its Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply the three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to include homeowners association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as “covenants, conditions, and restrictions” or CC&Rs. PRB-1 now only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances, and the FCC has been reluctant to extend the same legal protections to include such private land-use agreements without direction from Congress.

H.R. 1301 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which will consider the measure. S 1685 has been referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, which is chaired by the Sen Wicker, the Senate bill’s sponsor.

ARRL members are urged to contact their members of Congress in both the House and the Senate, asking them to sign on to the bill as cosponsors. Route letters to your member of Congress to ARRL, ATTN Amateur Radio Parity Act Grassroots Campaign, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Correspondence will be sorted at ARRL Headquarter and hand delivered to the appropriate US representatives and senators.

The House version of The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 has attracted support from 83 cosponsors, as of June 29.

Source:ARRL.org