The top ARRL legislative objective for the 111th Congress is to address private land use regulation of amateur antennas - in other words, to extend the PRB-1 "reasonable accommodation" provision to residential properties that are subject to CC&Rs. In doing their rounds on our behalf late last year, John Chwat and his staff found sympathetic ears in the office of Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee. Thanks to David Woolweaver we now know what led to her interest in Amateur Radio. During last September's Hurricane Ike, she spent a great deal of time at the Harris County EOC in Houston including quite a bit of time with the amateurs who were on duty there. Based on the independent feedback that David has received we have every reason to believe that her interest is sincere. Rep. Jackson-Lee serves on the Committee on Homeland Security. Since our rationale for the federal interest in private land use regulation of amateur antennas hinges largely on emergency preparedness, she expressed willingness to introduce a bill tailored for referral to that committee. The draft bill worked out last November between John Chwat and her staff, with input from Chris Imlay, calls for the Secretary of Homeland Security to undertake a study on the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio communications in disaster relief, including identifying "unreasonable or unnecessary impediments to enhanced Amateur Radio communications, such as the effects of private land use regulations on residential antenna installations, and shall make recommendations for eliminating such impediments." The study report would include an evaluation of Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and would recommend "whether that Section should be expanded to mandate a prohibition of private land use restrictions that impair" emergency communications preparations by amateurs. In other words, this approach envisions a two-step process: A report to Congress from the Secretary of Homeland Security recommending our amendment of Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act followed by a second bill to implement the recommendation. While we have been anticipating the introduction of this legislation ever since the opening of the new Congress, it has not yet been forthcoming. However, John has been assured that Rep. Jackson-Lee intends to introduce the bill when Congress returns next week. He and his staff have been working to line up original co-sponsors, particularly among the membership of the Committee on Homeland Security. To that end, several Directors have been asked to send faxes to Representatives in their Divisions, following up on contacts made by John's office. The response by Directors has been excellent and greatly appreciated. John Chwat also has requested some constituent letters from members in the targeted Congressional districts. While one or two letters for each district would suffice at this stage, a couple of Directors have emailed all of the members in the targeted districts. The faxes drafted for delivery yesterday did not address the specifics of the legislation, so this naturally has led a number of members to ask for more details as to what they are being asked to support. I hope this memo will help you answer questions you may receive. Feel free to pass along questions either to John or myself. Because the bill has not actually been introduced, it could be extremely damaging for a copy to be put into circulation outside the Board. I am attaching the draft bill in the form it was prepared last November, but PLEASE keep its contents confidential until legislation is actually introduced. To recap: The anticipated bill for which we are seeking support is titled the "Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009." The bill directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to undertake a study on the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio communications in disaster relief, including identifying "unreasonable or unnecessary impediments to enhanced Amateur Radio communications, such as the effects of private land use regulations on residential antenna installations, and shall make recommendations for eliminating such impediments." The bill further directs that the study report include an evaluation of Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and to recommend "whether that Section should be expanded to mandate a prohibition of private land use restrictions that impair" emergency communications preparations by amateurs. The report is to be provided to Congress within 180 days of enactment. When introduced, the bill is expected to be referred to the Committee on Homeland Security. 73, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ <<Legislation 2009 Draft Bill -- House 11 20 08 version.doc>>