A bill to extend the FCC's "reasonable accommodation" rule on amateur antennas to private land use agreements has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. S. 1685, introduced by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and initially co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), is identical to House bill H.R. 1301, introduced in March by Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger. That bill has, at press time, gathered 84 co-sponsors, according to the ARRL.
Wicker,
in a statement, said the bill would ensure "increased access to, and
availability of, critical resources and communication tools to our integral
first-responders" by providing amateurs with "the ability to negotiate
with subdivisions that now have restrictions that preclude amateur radio
antennas completely." He noted that this could be done "without
taking any jurisdiction away from homeowners associations and would protect
neighborhood aesthetics."
The
ARRL is urging all amateurs to ask their senators and representatives to show
their support for amateur radio by co-sponsoring S. 1685 or H.R. 1301,
depending on which house of Congress they are in.