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Missouri Amateur Radio Parity Act (MARPA)--TAKE TWO!

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by NA4DX, Dec 17, 2016.

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  1. NA4DX

    NA4DX XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    By now you should have heard from the ARRL that the Amateur Radio Parity Act, the Federal version, did not get through the US Senate but was tabled as a result of one Senator, Bill Nelson (Democrat), of Florida. This was the same Bill (HR-1301) that had received unanimous voice vote and passed without objection in the US House. In much the same way, we in Missouri experienced the same result last legislative session when our Bill, HB1951, was stalled out in the Senate committee by Chairman Sen. Rob Schaaf, District 34.

    We now have the opportunity to learn from the past and get our Missouri Bill all the way through to the finish line. This time we will get organized and ask our partner emergency management agencies (ARES, SEMA, EMA, NWS, Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, local politicians, etc) to support this legislation and demonstrate to the legislators that we, in fact, do have significant public support. Representative Bryan Spencer, District 63, has already pre-filed our Bill, HB136, and will bring it to the House in early January when the new legislative session begins. A copy of the text of our Bill (which, by the way, is the same version as amended last year) is available on our Facebook page, Missouri Amateur Radio Parity Act (MARPA). https://www.facebook.com/groups/163548427426968/. If you have not already joined our FB page, we encourage you to do so now so that you can stay updated with our progress. Realizing that many of you are not active on Facebook, we are developing a website, too, to promote our campaign. We will make this site known as soon as it is available. In addition to our FB page, we also have an online petition through Change.org that we need all hams, their families, friends and neighbors to sign. This will also help demonstrate the strong support we have across the State of Missouri for this legislation. This petition can be found on our Facebook page and will also be added to the website. https://www.change.org/p/missouri-state-house-missouri-amateur-radio-parity-act-house-bill-136?recruiter=516412445&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink. We currently have nearly 300 signatures but we need thousands. Please share this with everyone.



    As we prepare to succeed with this effort, it is imperative that we become much more organized and have a strategy to achieve our goals this time around. Therefore, we are dividing the state into five (5) regions: 1) St. Louis/Northeast Missouri; 2) Cape Girardeau/Southeast Missouri; 3) Springfield/Southwest Missouri; 4) Kansas City/Northwest Missouri and 5) Jefferson City/Central Missouri. We need volunteers from each of these regions to serve as Regional Coordinators to be the contact liaison to insure that all hams in their respective regions are encouraged to join in the effort to rally support from their elected officials (representatives, senators, mayors, aldermen, councilmen, etc). It would also be helpful if these individuals were either personally active or had relationships with the emergency management agencies we listed earlier. At the very least we want to motivate our partners provide us with documents showing the value of the Amateur Radio Service to their respective agencies. We are accepting nominations and recommendations for these five regional coordinators now. If you or someone you know is willing to serve in this capacity please contact Larry Scantlan, KEØKZ, by email scanco@charter.net, or phone (636) 699-2614. If you have any questions about what the coordinator’s responsibilities are, please don’t hesitate to ask. The sooner we can get these folks in place the better. We are developing contact lists for each of the Missouri State Representatives so that you can begin letting them know that we ask for their support. Let’s begin calling on our state representatives to support this legislation now by becoming co-sponsors. We already have three co-sponsors: Rep. Robert Cornejo; Rep. Jim Neely; and Rep. Justin Hill.

    An interview (podcast) we did with Christian Cudnik, KØSTH, of 100 Watts and A Wire, was just released and is available now at the following link: http://100wattsandawire.com/100-watts-and-a-wire/episode77. We hope to be doing podcasts/newsletters with a number of other online media such as QRZ.com, ARRL Letter, Amateur Radio Newsline, Ham Nation, The WAØRCR Gateway 160 Meter Radio Newsletter and more. If you know of any other sources that could help us get the word out, please let us know.

    Just as we did last time, we will be looking to the ARRL and their Missouri Section Manager, Cecil Higgins, ACØHA, to assist us in getting the word out to the local membership. We will also be utilizing the numerous amateur radio clubs, repeaters clubs, school clubs, and others, to spread the word. We can and we will succeed this time with your help. Remember, though you may not be currently affected by Homeowner Association restrictions (CC&R’s), a very large portion of your ham friends are. And, someday in the near future you may find your situation change as a result of a job change or some other life event. While you may try to do everything you can to avoid these restrictions, the reality is that today the choices are much fewer. By law all new housing subdivisions/developments are required to have an HOA and consequently, antenna restrictions most of which are totally prohibitive. We can help us all by supporting this legislation and limiting those restrictions for those who need it now and for future generations. Let’s demonstrate why Missouri is called the “Show Me State” by showing how we can come together and get the job done.

    73,

    Larry Scantlan, KEØKZ

    scanco@charter.net

    (636) 699-2614
     
    FK1TS likes this.
  2. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    HR 1301 was pathologically worded. Kindly tell us how the MO bill is worded so that it does not have these fatal issues?

    Your links do not present the wording of the bill itself.

    73
    Chip W1YW
     
  3. KK5JY

    KK5JY Ham Member QRZ Page

    I don't live in Missouri, but I'm still very curious to see how this plays out. If we can get a few states to do CC&R relief on their own, it will be a learning experience for other states who need to undertake their own state/local "parity act" efforts. It's kind of like how hams do a lot of things: somebody tries a new circuit or antenna, then someone else improves on the idea, then before long, the process is sufficiently well-documented that anybody can build it.

    If enough states do this, it will make a federal version unnecessary. That's good news, because the federal "parity act" efforts appear to be DOA, after no less than 20y of trying.

    Let the HOA lobby defeat 50 different "parity act" laws in 50 different states through 50 different court challenges. That will be much more difficult than defeating a single ARRL bill, especially given that state legislators tend to be more accessible to their constituents than federal folks (at least they are in this part of the country). After a few years of amateur antennas in HOAs, people will just learn to deal with it and move on. Most people can't distinguish a ham antenna from a cell tower, and most people don't care, either (HOA leadership notwithstanding). ;-)
     
    WB5PDZ likes this.
  4. NA4DX

    NA4DX XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Thank you, Chip, for your interest, comment, and question about what we're doing here in Missouri with respect to providing relief from prohibitive HOA restrictions relative to outside antennas erected on private property. Here is a link to the current wording of our Bill now filed with the Missouri House of Representatives. I invite your thoughts and insights. We believe that it is direct and simply stated in much the same way the original PRB-1 ruling by the FCC regarding state, county and local government restrictions on the amateur radio service was.

    http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills171/hlrbillspdf/0217h.01i.pdf

    73,

    Larry, KEØKZ
     
    W1YW likes this.
  5. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Read and highly regarded!

    Nice work guys and best of luck on passage:)

    73
    Chip W1YW
     
    AD0JA likes this.
  6. NA4DX

    NA4DX XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Thank you for taking the time to read and for your kind words. I hope you will pass the info along to any Missouri ham you might have contact with. We need all hands on deck. We have also established a petition via change.org which supporters can sign. Our Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/163548427426968/ as well.

    Merry Christmas and 73,

    Larry, KEØKZ
     
  7. NA4DX

    NA4DX XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Thank you for your interest and comments. We do hope that we can successfully pass this legislation here in Missouri and lead the way for hams in other states to do the same. It's been my experience that when hams take the time to inform their neighbors about what we really do and how we act in the interest of the public, they are not so resistant to the idea of a tower, vertical antenna or wire in a tree. The reality is that for most neighborhoods across America that would only represent only one out of four or five hundred homes anyway.

    Please help us get the word out to any Missouri hams you might have QSO's with. We have a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/163548427426968 and will soon have a website dedicated to our efforts.

    Merry Christmas and 73,

    Larry, KEØKZ
     
  8. WB2JIX

    WB2JIX XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    I wanted to share my Bill Nelson response here. My wife & I have been looking at homes in Florida, the HOA capital of the US. I don't want to be limited in erecting a "reasonable" antenna for my needs.
    Here's his response to my letter to him asking him to at least open his eyes and consider the bill. My response to him was that he obviously wasn't "open" to anything.
    If we move to Florida full time, I will devote a tremendous amount of energy to attempt to make sure he's not re-elected!

    Yes, nobody has to tell me that it's my choice where I purchase a home. I understand......................
    Brian


    Dear Mr. Duerr:


    Thank you for contacting me regarding regulation of amateur radio communications.


    I recognize the important role amateur radio operators play in enhancing public safety communications, particularly during emergencies, and believe it’s important to find the right balance between operators’ interests and those of the thousands of community homeowner associations across the country.
    I remain open to working with my colleagues on this issue, and will carefully consider proposals that take into account the needs of amateur radio operators and the rights of homeowners and community associations.


    I appreciate you taking the time to share your opinions with me. Please don't hesitate to contact me in the future.




    Sincerely,


    Bill Nelson
     
  9. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    Your response was to HR1301. This MO bill is very, very different.
     
    NN4RH likes this.
  10. WB2JIX

    WB2JIX XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Yes, I realize that. HR1301 AND Bill Nelson were both mentioned in the first sentence. I figured most could put two and two together and form the association.
    I'm sorry I didn't post "FYI ONLY".
    http://www.trueladderline.com
     
    NU4R likes this.
  11. NU4R

    NU4R XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    OR....Amateur Radio Operators could STOP MOVING INTO STEPFORD WIVES LIKE NEIGHBORHOODS!

    Because, you KNOWINGLY agreed to the CC&R's, just like EVERYONE ELSE, of your chosen H.O.A. governed communities, and then you wanna' 6itch, moan whine and cry to circumvent what YOU signed onto?!? Isn't it just plain SWELL that a person's signature on the bottom line on the closing of property, to abide by.....whatever..... in this day and age...doesn't mean a damn thing?

    Yeah, yeah, yeah. "You" thought that once YOU moved into your H.O.A. communities all would be just fine and dandy and the governing body of these Nazi-like HOA's would bow to your whim, right?!? OR, and here's the BEST excuse of the 21st century..."I didn't know what I was signing" or, "This is where my XYL wanted to move, so....."


    I guess if you whiners get your way, it'll only be a matter of time before ole' Billy Bob Bubba, who also lives in your same HOA community, will demand a "Parity Act" that allows him to pull the engine of his F350 on his front lawn and overhaul it on the side walk, right?!? Why shouldn't ole' Billy Bob Bubba NOT be granted HIS own wishes to HIS hidden agenda to not abide by the CC7R's, huh?!?

    Just lemme guess now! Ya'll gonna use that "emergency preparedness card" now and try to convince the masses that amateur radio is still a viable resource in the event of an emergency, right? Gimme a break!

    I'm a Ronald Reagan-like conservative and I HATE the thought that...Senator Bill Nelson got this right!

    SO many choices, ESPECIALLY in Florida...so little intelligence to make he right choice in the first! (And, everyone else be damned)
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
    W1YW and KK5JY like this.
  12. NU4R

    NU4R XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Steady Brian. us amateurs void of that built in arrogance knew exactly what you meant buddy! 73!
     
  13. WB2JIX

    WB2JIX XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Me be steady? OK.
    I'm exiting this thread.
     
  14. KC2UGV

    KC2UGV Ham Member QRZ Page

    Ew. That last section needs to go. Renters could be forced to beg to be allowed to even use ham radio equipment, in the property.
     
  15. KC2UGV

    KC2UGV Ham Member QRZ Page

    If you're looking to move anyways, why not move somewhere where HOAs aren't a problem to begin with?
     

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