UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Presidential )

Spectrum Policy ) Docket 040127027-4027-01

Initiative )

SECOND SUPPLEMENTAL COMMENTS OF

THE AMHERST ALLIANCE

In the Written Comments filed in this Docket by THE

AMHERST ALLIANCE, we referenced antenna bans by

Homeowners' Associations (HOAs). As HOAs spread to more

and more neighborhoods, their antenna bans are, increasingly,

blocking the ability of Amateur Radio operators, and other radio

sources, to carry information in and out of disaster areas.

The rising tide of HOA antenna bans is thereby impairing

national security and the effectiveness of "first responses" to

natural or man-made disasters.

-2-

In response, THE AMHERST ALLIANCE and the AMERICAN

RADIO RELAY LEAGUE (ARRL) have urged Congress to enact

H.R. 1478, the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications

Consistency Act. This legislation, re-introduced in 2003 by

Representative Steven Israel (D-NY), would direct the Federal

Communications Commission to override the HOA antenna bans.

In their place, HOAs would be required to make *"reasonable*

accommodation" of Amateur Radio antennas in their regulations.

In Amherst's Written Comments on the Presidential

Spectrum Policy Initiative (PSPI), we have urged NTIA, *and* *also*

the White House, to join Amherst and ARRL in endorsing, and

actively supporting, Representative Israel's important bill.

As a source of further information on this legislation, *and*

its possible expansion to protect other radio-based emergency

services as well, THE AMHERST ALLIANCE hereby submits in this

Docket the text of its Written Testimony for June 11, 2003

Congressional Hearings on "Emergency Communications Needs

Of First Responders".

-3-

For whatever reason, this Written Testimony was not

placed by Congressional authorities into the official record of the

Hearings. However, it was indeed submitted to the House

Subcommittee on Telecommunications and The Internet.

Presumably, the original and related copies can be found in

somewhere in the files of the Subcommittee and/or its leaders.

We hope and believe the information and ideas in this

Written Testimony will be useful in improving the scope and

reliability of emergency communications. The document should

be treated as part of the public record for NTIA's PSPI Docket.

Respectfully submitted,

Melissa S. Lear

Special Assistant to the President

THE AMHERST ALLIANCE

9 Nolan Road

South Glens Falls, New York 12803

<webweaver@mail15.com>

Dated: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

March 18, 2004

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

***"Voices For Choices"***

[**pioneerpath@hotmail.com**](mailto:pioneerpath@hotmail.com)

**(203) 756-7310 or (203) 757-1790**

**45 Bracewood Road**

**Waterbury, Connecticut 06706**

**July 2, 2003**

**Representative Fred Upton**

**Chairman**

**Representative Edward Markey**

**Ranking Minority Member**

**Subcommittee on Telecommunications**

**And The Internet**

**Committee on Energy And Commerce**

**U.S. House of Representatives**

**Washington, DC 20515**

***RE: June 11 Hearings On Spectrum Needs Of America's First
Responders***

**Dear Representatives Upton and Markey:**

**We commend you and your Subcommittee for holding Hearings, on June 11,
2003, to consider the spectrum needs of the nation's first responders.**

**This is clearly a legislative enterprise of the highest importance.**

**While the record is still open for written statements by interested
parties,**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE hereby submits formal Written Testimony on ways
to protect access to the radio spectrum by the first responders to**

**natural and man-made disasters, including acts of terrorism.**

**We respectfully request that this Written Testimony be placed in the
record.**

**As you know, THE AMHERST ALLIANCE is a Net-based, nationwide citizens'
advocacy group, concerned with a wide range of media regulation issues.
Our Members include Amateur Radio operators and other first**

**responders, as well as radio stations. We ask you to honor our
request.**

**Respectfully,**

**Don Schellhardt**

**Attorney For THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF**

***DON SCHELLHARDT,***

**ATTORNEY FOR**

***THE AMHERST ALLIANCE,***

**ON**

**SPECTRUM NEEDS OF**

**THE NATION'S FIRST RESPONDERS**

**PRESENTED TO**

***THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES***

***SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS***

***AND THE INTERNET***

**FOR SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS**

**ON**

**JUNE 11, 2003**

**TABLE OF CONTENTS**

**[Page]{.underline}**

***ABOUT* *THE* *AMHERST* *ALLIANCE* 1**

***THE NEED FOR "DEFENSE OF THE SPECTRUM"* 1**

***ENDORSEMENT OF H.R. 713 AND S. 537:***

***THE AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT OF 2003* 2**

***THE NEED TO EXPAND***

***THE AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT OF 2003* 3**

***Shortwave Transmissions* 3**

***Citizens Band Transmissions* 4**

***Radio Astronomy* 5**

***THE "JUDGMENT CALLS" IN THE NETHERLANDS AND JAPAN* 5**

***A PROPOSAL FOR EXPANDING***

***THE AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT OF 2003* 6**

***ENDORSEMENT OF H.R. 1478:***

***THE AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS***

***CONSISTENCY ACT* 7**

***A PROPOSAL FOR MERGING H.R. 713 WITH H.R. 1478* 7**

***CONCLUSION* 10**

**APPENDIX:**

**RECOMMENDED TEXT OF H.R. 713,**

**AS REVISED BY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS**

**My name is Don Schellhardt. I am the Attorney For THE AMHERST**

**ALLIANCE, and I am now submitting Written Testimony on behalf of
this**

**organization. I am also the Co-Founder of Amherst, and served for 2
years**

**as its first National Coordinator.**

***ABOUT THE AMHERST ALLIANCE***

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE is a Net-based, nationwide citizens'**

**advocacy group which calls for greater diversity in media ownership
and**

**programming. We were founded on September 17, 1998 \-- in Amherst,**

**Massachusetts \-- in order to mobilize public support for the
establishment of**

**a Low Power FM Radio Service. Since the FCC's establishment of a Low**

**Power FM Service, in January of 2000, we have been actively involved
with**

**the process of Low Power FM implementation. At the same time,
however,**

**our Members have led us to become involved with several other media
issues,**

**ranging from the FCC's deliberations on media ownership limits to
the**

**Copyright Office deliberations on Internet royalties for small
webcasters.**

***THE NEED FOR "DEFENSE OF THE SPECTRUM"***

**One of our issues of greatest concern has been what we call "Defense**

**Of The Spectrum". By this, we mean efforts to protect small but
vital**

**broadcasting services \-- notably, Amateur Radio, shortwave,
Citizens**

**Band transmissions and radio astronomy \-- from erosion, or even**

**displacement, by the rising tide of commercial wireless
transmissions.**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of First Responders**

**Page 2**

**Our efforts on this front have included May 23 Written Comments in**

**FCC Docket 03-104, opposing approval of Broadband Over Powerlines
(BPL),**

**and a June 11 letter to President Bush, stating our concerns about the
inter-agency**

**"Spectrum Policy Initiative" he launched in a Presidential Memorandum
on June 5.**

***ENDORSEMENT OF H.R. 713 AND S. 537:***

***THE AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT OF 2003***

**As another step in our "Spectrum Defense" campaign, we are pleased
and**

**proud to endorse H.R. 713, sponsored by Representative Michael
Bilirakis (R-FL),**

**and S. 537, the companion bill introduced in the other House of
Congress by**

**Senator Michael Crapo (R-ID).**

**In this regard, we strongly second the oral testimony of Jim Haynie,**

**President of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), during these
Hearings.**

**Legislation to protect Amateur Radio transmissions, which time after
time**

**have played a crucial role during the aftermath of both natural *and*
man-made**

**disasters, is clearly needed \-- and it is needed *now. ***

**As noted in Section 2 \-- the "Findings" Section \-- of H.R. 713:**

(4) **The Federal Communications Commission has taken actions**

> **which have resulted in the loss of at least 107 MHz of spectrum**
>
> **to radio amateurs.**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of First Responders**

**Page 3**

**If the FCC proceeds to authorize BPL, and/or if the White House
proceeds**

**with the June 5 "Spectrum Policy Initiative" in its present form, the
loss of 107 MHz**

**could be just the beginning. Amateur Radio truly *needs* the
protection that**

**enactment of H.R. 713 would provide.**

***THE NEED TO EXPAND***

***THE AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT OF 2003***

**While we strongly endorse enactment of H.R. 713, as currently written,
we**

***also* strongly endorse *expansion* of H.R. 713 \-- to encompass
comparable protection**

**for *other* small but vital "first responders" in the broadcasting
community.**

***Shortwave Transmissions***

***Shortwave transmissions,* like Amateur Radio transmissions, have
often**

**constituted the first \-- or one of the first \-- sources of
information flowing out**

**of, and/or into, areas facing a natural or man-made disaster.**

**In addition to their "first response" capabilities, shortwave
transmissions**

**also frequently serve the more routine \-- but still vital \--
function of facilitating**

**the flow of ideas and information within, and across, national
boundaries. *If* we**

**value human freedom, then preserving *listener* access to shortwave
frequencies is**

**particularly important in societies which are largely closed, or are
becoming so.**

**Of course, listener access is impossible unless *broadcaster* access
is also preserved.**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of First Responders**

**Page 4**

***Citizens Band Transmissions***

**Although references to Citizens Band transmissions often conjure up
images**

**of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT, Citizens Band transmissions also provide a**

**number of important public safety benefits:**

-   **Routine reports of highway conditions, *and* key alerts**

> **(as needed) about accidents and other emergencies,**
>
> **by CB-equipped volunteers in the Radio Emergency**
>
> **Affiliated Communications Teams (REACT)**

-   **A way that mobile CB users can call for help, often**

> **with more reliability than cell phones can provide, in**
>
> **the event of vehicle breakdown and/or other highway**
>
> **crises**

-   **A way that base station CB users (especially, but not**

> **exclusively, in rural areas) can call neighbors for help,**
>
> **and/or exchange information with neighbors during a**
>
> **disaster \-- even if the phones and electricity are out**

-   **A way that interstate truckers, and other drivers, can**

> **use conversation to stay awake during long, lonely**
>
> **drives**

**We submit that, in a possible competition for spectrum, any or all of
these**

**public safety functions are more important to the nation than
empowering**

**computer users to connect to The Internet 2 seconds faster than
before.**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of The Nation's First Responders**

**Page 5**

***Radio Astronomy***

**We acknowledge that radio astronomy is unlikely to serve a "first
response"**

**function \-- unless it helps us to detect incoming meteorites. Still,
radio astronomy**

**has served society well by expanding the body of human knowledge about
the**

**universe around us. It seems likely to continue this service far into
the future.**

**For this reason, we believe that radio astronomy should *also* enjoy
statutory**

**protection against displacement by BPL or similar signals, to which it
is acutely**

**vulnerable.**

***THE* *"JUDGMENT* *CALLS"* *IN* *THE* *NETHERLANDS* *AND* *JAPAN***

**We note that concerns about interference \-- with *more* *essential*
*uses* of the**

**broadcast spectrum \-- have led regulatory agencies in both The
Netherlands and**

**Japan to reject approval of Broadband Over Powerlines. Thus, the
United States**

**would not be alone if it refused to open the floodgates to a tidal
wave of BPL signals**

**and other new commercial wireless transmissions. *At a minimum,*
Congress should**

**adopt the H.R. 713 approach of identifying small but vital uses of the
spectrum \--**

**to be protected from displacement, or at least assured of relocation
on the spectrum**

**if needed.**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of The Nation's First Responders**

**Page 6**

***A PROPOSAL FOR EXPANDING***

***THE AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT OF 2003***

**In order to facilitate action by the Subcommittee to expand the
radio**

**spectrum protection coverage in H.R. 713, to include other small but
vital**

**broadcasting services beyond Amateur Radio transmissions, we have
developed**

**specific language which could be used to amend the bill.**

**The recommended revisions to the current text of H.R. 713 can be
found**

**in the *Appendix* to this Written Testimony.**

**The core provisions of the recommended amendment would:**

-   **Preserve the existing requirement that the FCC *must protect***

> **use of the radio spectrum for Amateur Radio transmissions**

-   **Incorporate a new requirement that the FCC *must consider***

> ***protecting,* in a formal rulemaking, use of the radio spectrum**
>
> **for each of the following purposes: shortwave transmissions,**
>
> **Citizens Band transmissions and radio astronomy**

-   **Establish a *rebuttable* presumption, for purpose of this**

> **rulemaking, that these uses of the spectrum should be**
>
> **protected**

**In addition, in several places within the bill where the Amateur
Radio**

**Service is referenced, the recommended amendment would add the
phrase:**

**... including military broadcasts conducted in tandem with**

**civilian amateur radio or amateur satellite services,**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of First Responders**

**Page 7**

**We believe this aspect of the recommended amendment is actually a**

**clarification of what the authors of H.R. 713 already intended.**

**The change would assure protection of the *Military Affiliate Radio
Service***

***(MARS):* a national defense communications network, in which civilian
Amateur**

**Radio operators work in concert with military broadcasting personnel
to ensure the**

**steady flow of personal messages back and forth between Americans in
military**

**uniform and their family and friends on the home front. Since the MARS
network**

**is a hybrid of Amateur Radio *and* military broadcasts, protecting
only the *civilian ***

**portions of it \-- as H.R. 713 provides \-- might not be sufficient to
preserve the**

**system. With the change we recommend, *both* portions of the MARS
network**

**would be shielded against displacement by newer, less public spirited
transmissions.**

***ENDORSEMENT OF H.R. 1478:***

***THE AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS***

***CONSISTENCY ACT***

**In addition to the protection against spectrum displacement that H.R.
713**

**provides, the Amateur Radio Service must also be shielded against
another force:**

**private land use regulations which bar homeowners and/or tenants from
installing**

**Amateur Radio equipment. Such bans abound in planned communities and
other**

**neighborhoods around the country, where Homeowners Associations
(HOAs), and**

**others, usually justify them on "aesthetic" grounds \-- even though it
is easy to find**

**compact equipment, which is effective without being obtrusive.**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of First Responders**

**Page 8**

**HOA bans on Amateur Radio equipment are working in practice to**

**deprive thousands of American neighborhoods, and tens of millions of
American**

**citizens, of the emergency preparedness services that are otherwise
available \--**

**virtually around the world. The bans are petty ... unjustified by the
evidence**

**about actual aesthetic impact ... and, above all, dangerously
shortsighted.**

**In future disasters, *including* acts of terrorism, it is well
established**

**that Amateur Radio communications will save lives. From this, it
follows that**

**HOA bans on Amateur Radio communications will *cost* lives. Perhaps,
given**

**the geographic prevalence of such bans, and the growing availability
of Weapons**

**of Mass Destruction, the bans will cost lives on a scale we cannot yet
imagine.**

**Fortunately for all of us, Representative Steven Israel (D-NY) has**

**introduced H.R. 1478: The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications**

**Consistency Act. This legislation would make private land use
regulations, like**

**regulations established by State and local governments, subject to the
FCC's**

**jurisdiction when Amateur Radio operations are involved. The bill
would**

**effectively empower the FCC to modify, restrain or even override HOA
bans on**

**Amateur Radio operations.**

**Like ARRL, THE AMHERST ALLIANCE heartily supports this bill.**

**Since H.R. 1478, like H.R. 713, has been referred to *this*
Subcommittee,**

**the Subcommittee can \-- and should \-- report *both* proposals to the
full**

**Committee, and later to the House floor.**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of First Responders**

**Page 9**

**As we have done with H.R. 713, we recommend the adoption of**

**strengthening amendments to H.R. 1478.**

**In the case of H.R. 1478, however, our strengthening amendments
would**

**be less complex. We recommend *expanding* the scope of the bill's
coverage to**

**provide FCC jurisdiction over private land use regulations which
affect:**

-   **Shortwave equipment and/or operations**

-   **Citizens Band equipment and/or operations, *if* used by**

> **volunteer participants in Radio Emergency Affiliated**
>
> **Communications Teams (REACT)**

-   **Any other broadcasting equipment and/or operations**

> **which the FCC identifies as valuable for conducting**
>
> **emergency communications and/or maintaining**
>
> **public safety and/or preserving national security**

***A PROPOSAL FOR MERGING H.R. 713 AND H.R. 1478***

**Although we certainly would not oppose separate Subcommittee and
full**

**Committee approval of H.R. 713 and H.R. 1478, we believe that \-- all
other factors**

**being equal \-- it would be more efficient and effective to combine
H.R. 713 with**

**H.R. 1478. Better still would be a combination of H.R. 713, *as
expanded* through**

**the amendments we have recommended, with H.R. 1478, *as expanded*
through the**

**amendments we have recommended.**

**The revised text of H.R. 713, as set forth in the Appendix to this
Written**

**Testimony, shows how this could be done.**

**THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

**Spectrum Needs Of First Responders**

**Page 10**

***CONCLUSIONS***

**To reiterate, briefly, the legislative recommendations of THE
AMHERST**

**ALLIANCE, regarding action to address the spectrum needs of first
responders,**

**we urge this Subcommittee to:**

-   **Report H.R. 713 to the full Committee, *after* voting to**

> **adopt strengthening amendments:**

-   **A requirement that the FCC must consider**

> **protecting shortwave transmissions, Citizens**
>
> **Band transmissions and radio astronomy**

-   **Clarification of references to Amateur Radio,**

> **so that *all* of the Military Radio Affiliate**
>
> **Service (MARS) network is protected**

-   **Report H.R. 1478 to the full Committee, *after* voting to**

> **adopt strengthening amendments:**

-   **Protection of shortwave equipment and/or**

> **operations**

-   **Protection of Citizens Band equipment and/or**

> **operations, *if* used by volunteer participants**
>
> **in Radio Emergency Affiliate Communications**
>
> **Teams (REACT)**

-   **Protection of any other broadcasting equipment**

> **and/or operations which the FCC identifies as**
>
> **valuable for conducting emergency communications**
>
> **... and/or maintaining public safety ... and/or**
>
> **preserving national security**

-   **Ideally, combine the expanded version of H.R. 713 with the**

> **expanded version of H.R. 1478 \-- to form a single bill**

**RECOMMENDED TEXT OF H.R. 713**

**\[AND COMPANION BILL S. 537\],**

**THE AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM PROTECTION ACT OF 2003,**

**AS REVISED BY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS**

**ENDORSED BY**

***THE AMHERST ALLIANCE***

**June 28, 2003**

Standard and *italicized* TIMES NEW ROMAN type = Current text of H.R.
713

**Bold** TIMES NEW ROMAN type = Amendment #1

(Based on text of H.R. 1478,

The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act)

***Bold Italicized*** TIMES NEW ROMAN type = Amendment #2

(Proposed by THE AMHERST ALLIANCE)

Brackets \[ \] indicate current text of H.R. 713 that would be deleted

\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*

A BILL

To ensure the availability of spectrum to amateur radio operators
**\[**.**\]** **and provide that private land use rules be treated as a
State or local regulation for purposes of certain Federal Communications
Commission regulations.**

*Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the*

*United States of America in Congress assembled.*

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the 'Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection **and**

**Emergency Communications Consistency** Act of 2003'.

AMHERST ALLIANCE APPENDIX:

Page 2

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) More than 650,000 radio amateurs in the United States are licensed

> by the Federal Communications Commission.

(2) Among the basic purposes of the Amateur Radio and Amateur

> Satellite Services are to provide voluntary, noncommercial radio
> service,
>
> particularly emergency communications.

(3) Emergency communications services by volunteer amateur radio

> operators have consistently and reliably been provided before, during,
>
> and after floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, earthquakes,
> blizzards,
>
> train accidents, chemical spills, and other disasters ***\[*** . ***\]
> , including acts***
>
> ***of terrorism.***

(4) The Federal Communications Commission has taken actions which

> have resulted in the loss of at least 107 MHz of spectrum to radio
> amateurs.

(5) ***Private land use rules and/or covenants, in planned
    communities***

> ***and other areas, have frequently restricted the installation and/or
> use of Amateur Radio equipment to the point at which Amateur Radio
> Service***
>
> ***operations, and their emergency communications capabilities, have
> been***
>
> ***effectively banned in such areas.***

(6) ***Similar or identical developments are also threatening to erode
    the***

> ***viability of shortwave and Citizens Band transmissions, both of
> which have also demonstrated a proven capability to materially enhance
> emergency communications, public safety services and the free flow of
> ideas and information, both within and across national boundaries.***

(7) ***In addition, similar or identical developments are threatening
    to***

> ***erode the viability of certain radio astronomy operations, both
> amateur***
>
> ***and professional, which have made significant contributions to the
> body***
>
> ***of human knowledge and the talent pool of skilled scientists and
> broadcasters.***

(8) ***New federal statutes and regulations are needed in order to
    assure***

> ***continuation of, and potential expansion of, the vital
> contributions currently***
>
> ***made by the Amateur Radio Service, and certain other forms of
> broadcast communications, to the nation's emergency preparedness
> capabilities***
>
> ***and public safety services, as well as to other aspects of the
> national interest.***

AMHERST ALLIANCE APPENDIX:

Page 3

SEC. 3. FEDERAL POLICY REGARDING REALLOCATION OF AMATEUR RADIO SPECTRUM
***\[*** . ***\] AND/OR CERTAIN OTHER BROADCAST OPERATIONS WHICH MAKE
VITAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATIONAL INTEREST.***

Section 303 of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by adding at

the end the following new subsection:

' (z) ***(1)*** Notwithstanding subsection (c), after July 1, 2003 \--

'***\[***(1)***\]*** ***(i)*** make no reallocation of primary
allocations of bands of

frequencies of the amateur radio and amateur satellite services***,***

***including military broadcasts conducted in tandem with civilian***

***amateur radio and amateur satellite services***;

'***\[***(2)***\]*** ***(ii)*** not diminish the secondary allocations
of bands of

to the amateur radio or amateur satellite service***s, including***

***military broadcasts conducted in tandem with civilian***

***amateur radio and amateur satellite services***; and

'***\[***(3)***\]*** ***(iii)*** make no additional allocations within
such bands of

frequencies that would substantially reduce the utility

thereof to the amateur radio or amateur satellite service***s,***

***including military broadcasts conducted in tandem with***

***civilian amateur radio and amateur satellite services***;

unless the Commission, at the same time, provides equivalent replacement

spectrum to amateur radio and amateur satellite service. ***\[***
'***\]***

***' (2) Notwithstanding subsection (c) \-\--***

(i) ***within 10 days of the date of enactment of***

> ***Section 303 (z) (1), extend the protections of***
>
> ***Section 303 (z) (1), on an interim basis, to***
>
> ***shortwave broadcasts, Citizens Band broadcasts***
>
> ***and radio astronomy operations;***

(ii) ***within 90 days of the date of enactment of***

> ***Section 303 (z) (1), issue for public notice and***
>
> ***comment the proposed version of a final rule***
>
> ***that would make permanent the interim***
>
> ***protections of Section 303 (z) (2) (i), based***
>
> ***upon the rebuttable presumption that the***
>
> AMHERST ALLIANCE APPENDIX:
>
> Page 4
>
> ***protected operations enhance the nation's***
>
> ***emergency communications capabilities***
>
> ***and/or the nation's public safety services,***
>
> ***and/ or promote the free flow of ideas and***
>
> ***information within and across national***
>
> ***boundaries, and/or significantly expand***
>
> ***the body of human knowledge, and/or***
>
> ***make other vital contributions to the***
>
> ***national interest;***

(iii) ***within 1 year of the date of enactment***

> ***of Section 303 (z) (1), promulgate a***
>
> ***final rule which makes permanent the***
>
> ***interim protections of Section 303 (z)***
>
> ***(2) (i), for all of the broadcast operations***
>
> ***which are referenced therein, except in***
>
> ***those specific cases (if any) in which the***
>
> ***rebuttable presumption of a vital national***
>
> ***contribution has been overcome by a clear***
>
> ***preponderance of the evidence; and***

(iv) ***periodically as needed, but in no event less***

> ***frequently than every 10 years, issue and***
>
> ***conclude a Notice Of Inquiry regarding***
>
> ***whether the protections of Section 303 (z)***
>
> ***(2) should be extended to, and/or withdrawn***
>
> ***from, any specific broadcast operations,***
>
> ***based upon whether vital contributions to***
>
> ***the national interest are in fact being made,***

***with all currently protected broadcast***

***operations remaining subject to the rebuttable***

> ***presumption of a vital national contribution.***

**SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF PRIVATE LAND USE RULES AS LOCAL REGULATION.**

(a) **For purposes of the Federal Communications Commission's**

> **regulation relating to station antenna structures *and/or
> operations***
>
> **in the amateur radio services (47 CFR 97.15), *including military
> ***
>
> ***broadcasts conducted in tandem with civilian amateur radio or***
>
> ***amateur* *satellite services,* any private land use rules shall
> be**
>
> **treated as a State or local regulation and shall be subject to the**
>
> **same requirements and limitations as a State or local regulation.**
>
> AMHERST ALLIANCE APPENDIX:
>
> Page 5

(b) ***The provisions of Section 4 (a) shall also apply to:***

    1.  ***shortwave radio receiving and/or transmission equipment***

> ***and/or operations;***

2.  ***Citizens Band radio equipment and/or operations, if they***

> ***involve participants in volunteer Radio Emergency***
>
> ***Associated Communications Teams (REACT); and***

3.  ***any other broadcasting equipment and/or operations***

> ***which the Federal Communications Commission***
>
> ***identifies as being of value for conducting emergency***
>
> ***communications and/or maintaining public safety***
>
> ***and/or preserving national security.***

**APPENDIX Prepared By:**

***DON SCHELLHARDT***

**Attorney For THE AMHERST ALLIANCE**

[**pioneerpath@hotmail.com**](mailto:pioneerpath@hotmail.com)

**(203) 756-7310 or (203) 757-1790**

**45 Bracewood Road**

**Waterbury, Connecticut 06706**

**June 28, 2003**