[SCCC] HEARING SET ON CALIFORNIA AMATEUR RADIO ANTENNA BILL

[Doug Brandon]

FYI

   73 de Doug, N6RT


HEARING SET ON CALIFORNIA AMATEUR RADIO ANTENNA BILL

A legislative committee hearing has been set for March 26 on California's latest attempt to pass an Amateur Radio antenna bill, Assembly Bill 1228. The measure, introduced February 21 by Assemblyman Bob Dutton (R-63rd), has been referred to the Committee on Local Government.

ARRL Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG, and ARRL staffer and antenna expert Dean Straw, N6BV, are among those scheduled to testify on behalf of AB 1228 later this month before the committee.

In 2000, the California Legislature passed a bill incorporating the essence of the limited federal preemption known as PRB-1, but Gov Gray Davis vetoed the measure. Davis said at the time that he turned down the bill, then known as SB-1714, because funds for required studies were not included in his budget and because he considered amateur antennas "a local rather than a state issue."

ARRL Southwestern Division Director Art Goddard, W6XD, says AB 1228 addresses Gov Davis' objection to the 2000 bill by eliminating the need for a study at taxpayer expense. Goddard says the committee also is addressing concerns already raised by The League of California Cities.

Goddard said he and the late Pacific Division Director Jim Maxwell, W6CF, were involved in reviving the Amateur Radio antenna bill during the current legislative session. But he cited Mike Mitchell, W6RW, as "the sparkplug" of the 2003 PRB-1 bill committee. The committee is composed of Northern and Southern California hams, since California spans two ARRL divisions.

The new bill would incorporate the language of PRB-1 into California's statutes. AB 1228 would require any ordinance regulating Amateur Radio antenna structures to not preclude Amateur Radio Service communications, to "reasonably accommodate" amateur communications, to allow amateur station antenna structures "at heights and dimensions sufficient to accommodate Amateur Radio Service communications," and to constitute "the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish the legitimate purpose of the city or county."

So far, 16 states have incorporated the essence of PRB-1 into their laws. An Amateur Radio antenna bill awaits the governor's signature in Utah, and similar measures are pending in several other states.

A copy of the proposed legislation is available on the California Legislature Web site
<http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_1201-1250/ab_1228_bill_20030221_introduced.html>.