Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R. 1301 - Need your help

Dear ARRL member,

I am writing to you today because we are at a crossroad in our efforts to obtain passage of The Amateur Radio Parity Act.

Our legislative efforts scored a major victory in our campaign when The Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R. 1301, passed in the House of Representatives yesterday, September 12th. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where we need every Senator to approve the bill.

You are one of over 730,000 licensed Amateur Radio Operators living in the United States.  Many of you already live in deed-restricted communities, and that number grows daily.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL HAMS TO GET INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS!

• If you want to have effective outdoor antennas but are not currently allowed to do so by your Home Owner’s Association, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!

• If you already have outdoor antennas, but want to support your fellow hams, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!

• If you want to preserve your ability to install effective outdoor antennas on property that you own, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!

We need you to reach out to your Senators TODAY!  Right away.

Please help us in the effort.

Please go to this linked website and follow the prompts:

https://arrl.rallycongress.net/ctas/urge-senate-to-support-amateur-radio-parity-act

Thank you.

73,
Rick
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rick Roderick, K5UR
President
ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio®

Does using your amateur radio in the car qualify as "distracted driving"?

An interesting topic came up on the commute this morning. One of our groups daily Ham radio commuters finishes his QSO with "well I will be taking a standby guys, as I am being pulled over by a NYS Trooper". Then there was silence from our friend for about 10 minutes until he came back with the story. Well, you can almost imagine the story, but he did get a ticket and it brings up a lot of questions. (With that persons permission, we will try to update this article after he goes to court).


After this incident, another local Ham suggested that we might share some of the legal opinions and references on using our amateur radios in vehicles here in New York State.

So here goes....................

NYS DMV DRIVING OPINION from the Hudson Division ARRL, August 2013:

"Given the concern that many hams have regarding the new “Distracted Driving Law” that went into effect in New York this past July, particularly since the law increased the penalty to 5 points on a license, I recently asked the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Counsel’s office for an explanation of both the cell phone and distracted driving laws and how they apply to hams.

The opinion, is attached.  I suggest that you read it thoroughly.  It’s very detailed but simply put, it says the following:

Thanks for your support Congressman John Katko!

JOHN KATKO
24TH DISTRICT, NEW YORK
________________________________________
1123 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BLDG
WASHINGTON, DC 20515
________________________________________
440 SOUTH WARREN STREET
7TH FLOOR, SUITE 711
SYRACUSE, NY 13202
(315) 423-5657
________________________________________
HTTP://KATKO.HOUSE.GOV 


March 18, 2016

Mr. xxxx x. xxxxxxx
xxx xxxxxxxxxxx Rd
xxxxxxxx, NY xxxxx-xxxx

Dear Mr. xxxxxx,

I recognize the value of amateur radio stations throughout our nation and due to your involvement in the field, I wanted to inform you of my recent efforts in Washington to support amateur radio stations.

Radio amateurs provide an invaluable service to Central New York by disseminating emergency and disaster relief communications from their personal radio stations.  Without cost to taxpayers, these radio stations can serve to assist with communications from the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, FEMA, and the Department of Defense in times of emergency.  For this reason, I have cosponsored H.R. 1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015.

As you may know, on March 4th, H.R. 1301 was introduced in the House and has since been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, where it awaits review.  The legislation would direct the Federal Communications Commission to revise height and dimension restrictions for station antenna structures of amateur service communications, to prohibit a private land use restriction from applying to amateur service communications if the restriction prevents such communications.

Should additional legislation related to this issue come before the House, I will continue to advocate for the interests of amateur radio stations throughout the 24th District.

I hope that you will keep me informed of the issues important to you and your family, as your input helps me to better serve you as your Representative in Congress. If you would like to stay informed of the latest issues coming out of Washington, you can visit www.katko.house.gov to sign up for my e-newsletter.

Sincerely,


John Katko
Member of Congress


I just received this letter today from my Congressman. I wrote to him at the urging of many local hams some time ago to ask for his support of H.R. 1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015. Its nice when someone in government listens these days. Thanks John!