President Signs CB Enforcement Bill

From the ARRL Letter...


President Bill Clinton has signed legislation that permits the enforcement
of certain FCC Citizens Band regulations by state and local governments.
Amateur Radio operators are exempt from the provisions of the law, now PL
106-521.




Congressional lawmakers saw the measure as a way to give a voice to those
experiencing radio frequency interference resulting from illegal CB radio
operation. The FCC will not yield its authority to regulate Citizens Band or
other radio services, however.



In short, the measure authorizes states and localities to enact laws that
prohibit the use of unauthorized CB equipment--consistent with FCC
regulations. This would include the use of high-power linear amplifiers or
equipment that was not FCC-certificated.



FCC-licensed stations in any radio service--including the Amateur
Service--are excluded from such state or local enforcement, and state or
local laws enacted under this legislation must identify this exemption.



The bill--HR.2346 is the House version; it was S.2767 in the
Senate--actually is the old Senate "Feingold bill" from several sessions
ago. The bill's sponsor, Rep Vernon Ehlers of Michigan says local hams asked
him to support the bill because of the bad rap they were getting from
illegal CBers using high-power linear amplifiers that resulted in TV and
telephone interference while the CBers involved hid behind federal
preemption.



As did Feingold before him, Ehlers asked the ARRL to review his measure to
ensure that it would not unintentionally harm Amateur Radio.



A copy of the new legislation is available on the ARRL Web site at
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2000/11/29/3/cbbill.html.