REPORT ON THE 80TH
It is said that
if you can walk away from a session of the
legislature with what you brought to the table, you are a winner.
Well, at this session amateur radio was a winner and better yet, there
were no losers.
Many of us within the ARRL have argued strenuously for years that
the ARRL should - if it was to protect amateur radio - form effective
and organized member groups to monitor and represent the interests of
amateur radio at the local, state and federal legislative level. As a
result of those efforts the ARRL's West Gulf Division Legislative
Action Group was in place when the Texas Legislature roared into
Bad Bills Arisin'
At the start of the 80th Legislative Session, things looked bleak
for amateur radio because four bills were filed; 3 House bills and 1
Senate bill, that would have prohibited or criminalized the use of
either vehicular mounted or handheld mobile amateur radios.
To meet the threat, Coy Day, West Gulf Director, tasked me to
activate the West Gulf Political Action Group. I solicited volunteers
and three came forward. They are Glen Reid, K5FX; Lee Cooper, W5LHC;
and John Stratton, KE5ISX. All are professional, motivated,
politically savvy and live in the
the ARRL needed, "Boots on the ground". Once organized, I immediately
integrated the newly formed Austin Group with the activities of Jim
Robinson, K5PNV, STX SGL.
On the surface, three of the bills, Senate Bill 154 by Sen.
Wentworth, House Bill 201 by Rep. Menendez and House Bill 3689 by Rep.
Coleman, appeared to be directed at prohibiting the use of cellular
telephones by motorists unless used with a "hands-free" device. A close
reading of the bills revealed they were not so benign or so limited.
The key language of the three bills was identical. Although it
appeared the bills were only directed at cell phone and text messaging
device users, the bills were worded to prohibit the use of a "wireless
communication device" unless used with a "hands-free" device. The
problem lies with the fact that a "Wireless communication device" was
not defined by the bills or by existing federal or state law. As
written, SB 154, HB 201 and HB 3689 would have actually prohibited or
criminalized, not only the use of mobile amateur radio, but commercial
mobile radios, vehicular GPS navigation devices, vehicular AM/FM
radios, on-board automobile computer control systems and a host of
other radio devices.
House Bill 652 by Rep. Quintanilla was different. By clear
language it criminalized the use of any mobile radio - whether
installed or handheld. This bill was so over the top in what it
prohibited - talking to a passenger, consuming food or a beverage,
performing personal grooming (combing one's hair and scratching were
finally becoming crimes), listening to an installed AM/FM radio or CD
player, listening to an iPod (installed or not) - that the
Legislative Action Group believed it would never make it out of the
House Transportation Committee for a floor vote. Consequently, HB 652
was watched, but all efforts were concentrated on SB 154, HB 201 and HB
3689.
Due to Sen. Wentworth's seniority and position on the powerful
Senate Transportation & Homeland Security Committee, it was believed SB
154 would be the lead bill and initial efforts were focused on Sen.
Wentworth.
In early February, STX SGL Jim Robinson (K5PNV) contacted Sen.
Wentworth's office. Based on representations made by Sen. Wentworth,
Jim Robinson reported to Ray Taylor (N5NAV), STX SM, and me that he had
taken care of the issue as Sen. Wentworth had agreed to exempt amateur
radio from application of SB 154.
He Was Against Us - Before He Was For Us - Before He Was Against Us
Well, that understanding did not last long. Contacts in the
following weeks with Sen. Wentworth's office by multiple hams
attempting to explain the overly broad language of the bill prohibited
the use of all vehicular amateur and commercial radios produced
inconsistent responses from his
office. I traveled to
mid-February and visited with Senator Wentworth's Chief of Staff. He
confirmed to me that the Senator, contrary to any prior
representations, refused to exempt amateur radio, saying Sen. Wentworth
believed everyone ought to drive with two hands on the wheel. Sen.
Wentworth made it clear he intended SB 154 to prohibit the use of
handheld or vehicular-mounted two-way radios.
While others and I were initially attempting to work with Sen.
Wentworth in late February and early March, John Robert Stratton
(KE5ISX) began working with Rep. Menendez's office on HB 201. In
contrast to Sen. Wentworth, Rep. Menendez emphatically said it was not
his intent to prohibit the use of mobile amateur radio. His office
argued HB 201 did not adversely affect amateur radio because a
vehicular mounted radio was not a "wireless communication device" -
because it was wired into the vehicle. This erroneous belief arose
partially from advice given to Menendez (and Wentworth we were to learn
later) by the attorneys at Texas Legislative Council who actually
drafted HB 201, HB 3689 and SB 154.
After John Stratton provided a thorough explanation of how radio
works and what "wireless" really meant, Menendez's Chief of Staff
recognized the bill had unintended consequences, but was reluctant to
agree to any changes unless those
changes were recommended by the
Legislative Council.
In an attempt to reassure Menendez and ensure HB 201 would not
hurt amateur radio, John Stratton redrafted HB 201 to clearly limit its
application to the intended targets and exclude amateur radio both by
definition and specific exemption. After receipt of the draft, Menendez
was still unwilling to alter HB 201. However, at John's request
Menendez agreed to meet with him and other concerned hams on March 22.
Since Wentworth was proving intractable, I mobilized groups of
hams in
in
importance of protecting amateur radio's ability to remain a key
component of emergency communications at the local, state and federal
level. I also alerted the
prepared for a mass mail effort.
In addition, John and other hams contacted other groups,
including taxi drivers, GPS manufacturers and commercial radio users,
persuading them to contact Menendez and Wentworth to complain of the
harm caused by HB 201 and SB 154.
Good Bill Arisin'
March 7, 2007 saw the filing of SB 11, the lead homeland security bill
for this Session. Authored by Sen. Carona, Chairman of the powerful
Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, the bill
contained two key amateur radio friendly provisions: Article 2 and
Article 5.
Article 2 added S661.919 to the Government Code to extend the benefits
of the Ready Texan Act, originally passed in 1999 by the 76th
Legislature, to all state employees. The Ready Texan Act permitted up
to 350 state employees at one time who were certified American Red
Cross volunteers, to be granted leave for up to 10 days each, to
participate in a declared emergency without loss of salary or benefits.
But, it was limited only to Red Cross volunteers.
The new S661.919 grants to licensed amateur radio operators the same
privileges and protections originally granted to only Red Cross
volunteers. Now up to 350 amateur radio operators who are state
employees may be granted leave for up to 10 days to participate in
declared disasters without loss of salary or benefits.
Much of the credit for the inclusion of S661.919 in SB 11, lies with
Lee Cooper (W5LHC), STX Section Public Information Coordinator, who
drafted and worked tirelessly with Sen. Carona's office and the
Committee staff to ensure inclusion and passage of this superbly
beneficial provision in the bill.
Article 5 amends Government Code S418.013(c) and adds S546.006 to the
Transportation Code. These modifications permit a vehicle driven by an
amateur radio operator who is a member of an emergency organization
such as RACES, ARES or the Red Cross to be designated an official
emergency vehicle during a declared disaster, as determined by the
Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management.
Break In the Ranks
By the middle of March, John Stratton was successful in
persuading both Menendez and the Texas Legislative Council to agree to
redraft HB 201 to eliminate its effect on amateur radio. Menendez's
office indicated that Wentworth had agreed to consider accepting the
new draft.
After consultation with the FCC, John drafted two proposed
replacements for HB 201 and SB 154 and submitted them for consideration
to Menendez, Wentworth and the
replacements were worded to clearly exclude amateur radio from the
targeted class and, as a precaution, also included a specific exemption
for amateur radio from application of the bills.
Wentworth Reaffirms Refusal to Exempt Amateur Radio
Glen Reid (K5FX), Lee Cooper, and John Stratton met with Sen.
Wentworth's Chief of Staff Joe Morris on March 15, 2007. Glen delivered
an excellent PowerPoint presentation that forcefully explained amateur
radio's critical importance to local, state and federal emergency
communications. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Morris assured
Glen, Lee and John that the Senator would consider exempting amateur
radio from SB 154.
However, within a week Mr. Morris confirmed Sen. Wentworth had
considered our request, but still declined to grant an exemption for
amateur radio, again stating it was Sen. Wentworth's intent that SB 154
cover all radio operations and it was the Senator's belief that
everyone should drive with two hands on the steering wheel.
Menendez Reaffirms Intent To not Include Amateur Radio
Glen, Lee, John and Paul Gilbert (KE5ZW) met with Menendez's
Chief of Staff Jennifer Brader on March 22, 2007. Ms. Brader was
receptive to their presentation and again confirmed Menendez had never
intended to include mobile amateur radio operation in HB 201's
prohibited operations. She also admitted Menendez had heard from other
radio operators complaining that HB 201, as worded, would also prohibit
their mobile operations.
However, Ms. Brader was unwilling to commit to including a
specific exemption for amateur radio, until the redrafted HB 201 was
received from the Texas Legislative Council, as she believed the
redraft would eliminate our concerns.
The
We received the Texas Legislative Council's redraft of HB 201 and
SB 154 at the end of March. It was not much of an improvement. Although
similar in language to the draft we had submitted to the TLC, it did
not track the precise language recommended by the FCC to ensure that
amateur radio and other mobile radio operators would be excluded from
the bill. No one was willing to either clean up the loose language or
modify the TLC bill to include an exemption for amateur radio.
The Hearing Race Is On
Beginning in early April, the public committee hearings on the bills
we were working, SB11, HB201 and SB154 began.
SB 11
The Senate Transportation & Homeland Security Committee held its
first public hearing on SB 11 on April 4, 2007. Tom Blackwell (N5GAR),
NTX SM & NTX SGL, Glen Reid and Lee Cooper testified. Tom Blackwell
testified to request resolution of a conflict in the Education Code
that caused problems for amateur radio operators in some school
districts. Glen and Lee testified in support of Articles 2 and 5.
Jim Robinson (K5PNV), STX SGL, and Paul Gilbert KE5ZW) also
attended the hearing, registering in favor of SB 11.
At the conclusion of the hearing on SB 11, Senator Carona,
Chairman of the Committee, thanked all the hams for their presence and
announced to the overflowing crowd that ham radio operators were the
unsung heroes of emergency communications.
HB 201
The House Transportation Committee hearing on HB 201 on April 17,
2007, also ended favorably. Rep. Menendez requested that the Committee
substitute the Texas Legislative Council draft for the original HB 201.
The Committee initially agreed to accept the substitute. John Stratton
testified the ARRL was not opposed to the bill's intent, but was
concerned the language of both the original bill and TLC substitute had
unintended consequences and advised the Committee that ARRL's concerns
would be eliminated if a specific exemption for amateur radio was
included in the bill, just as had been done by other states that had
passed similar legislation.
Chairman Krusee and Vice Chairman Phillips both asked Menendez to
work with ARRL on crafting an exemption. Following John's testimony and
the comments by the Chairman and Vice Chairman, Rep. Menendez told the
Committee that he would work with us to include a specific exemption
for mobile amateur radio operations. The Committee then withdrew the
substituted bill, leaving the original bill pending in Committee.
In a hallway meeting immediately following the Committee hearing,
Rep. Menendez confirmed he would include a specific exemption for
amateur radio in the bill. Rep. Menendez was given a written copy of
two exemptions we had drafted and told either would be acceptable to
ARRL.
SB 154
The result of SB 154's hearing on April 25, 2007 before Sen.
Carona's Transportation & Homeland Security Committee was extremely
favorable. Because SB 154 was considered the lead "cell phone" bill, we
requested and had a very good turnout of hams to oppose the bill.
Before the hearing, John Stratton met Sen. Wentworth's Chief of
Staff, Joe Morris, and again stated the ARRL would not oppose either
the original bill or the TLC substitute, if Sen. Wentworth would agree
to include a specific exemption approved by ARRL for amateur radio
operators. Mr. Morris responded that the Senator still refused to
include the requested amateur radio exemption.
As expected, Sen. Wentworth requested the Committee accept the TLC
redraft as a substitute for the original bill and the Committee agreed.
Glen Reid,
Michael G. Hardwick (N5VCX), President of the
Valley Radio Club and the Communications Coordinator for the Annual
MS-150 Race, and John Stratton testified against SB 154. Again, our
position was that we did not oppose the intent of the bill, but we were
concerned the language of both the original bill and TLC substitute had
unintended consequences, advising the Committee that ARRL's concerns
would be eliminated if a specific exemption for amateur radio was
included in the bill. As we had done in the House hearing, we offered
the Committee two written exemptions, requesting that one of them be
added to SB 154.
At the conclusion of our testimony, Sen. Carona responded
favorably, stating he was certain many on the Committee agreed SB 154
was in need of changes. Quite a few of the Senators nodded in
agreement. The Committee left SB 154 pending in Committee.
Hams that attended and registered against SB 154 included Boyce
(WD0ACD) and Eric L. Rabinowitz (AE5BE). Many others called the
Committee members to express their opposition.
It Gets Better
On the afternoon of April 25, 2007, Rep. Menendez's Chief of Staff
advised John Stratton that HB 201 had too much opposition in the House
Committee and would not be reported out - it was dead for the 80th
Legislative Session.
Just days before, the Chief of Staff for Rep. Quintanilla had
confirmed to John that our original belief that HB 652 stood no chance
of passage was correct - stating HB 652 had overwhelming opposition
from the House Transportation Committee members. It was dead for the
Session.
The Senate Transportation & Homeland Security Committee reported out
SB 154 favorably on May 2 - with an exemption for amateur radio in the
exact language we had requested. In order to persuade the Committee to
approve SB 154, Sen. Wentworth had been forced to agree to our
exemption.
May 9 marked the end of ARRL's exposure to the cell phone bills
for this Session. Sen. Wentworth's Chief of Staff advised us the
Senator was pulling SB 154 from consideration by the Senate, because he
did not have the votes to bring it to a floor vote. The deadline for
all House bills to be reported out by a committee had also expired,
leaving HB 201, HB 3689 and HB 652 dead for this Session.
SB 11 Survives The Gauntlet & ARRL Survives The Amendment
SB 11's journey to passage was hotly contested. The Senate
Committee reported SB 11 out on April 12 and the whole Senate approved
it on April 18. The House Defense Affairs & State-Federal Relations
Committee considered SB 11 May 7, but substituted its version for the
Senate's, sending the substitute to the House for approval. The House
passed the substituted version of SB 11 on May 23, but only after
adding 20 amendments.
One of those 20 amendments was potentially dangerous to hams. A
bill authored by CLEAT (Combined Law Enforcement Associations of
The bill, poorly drafted, was an attempt to make the theft and use of
police, fire or
covered by existing criminal statutes. The danger arose because a
provision made it a crime for anyone to use any frequency that could be
used for communications in an emergency - in other words, potentially
all frequencies assigned by the FCC to amateur radio.
Our attempts to persuade the authors of the amendment to modify
the dangerous language were initially rebuffed. We advised the Senate
Committee that the amendment was fatally flawed, we were unsuccessful
in obtaining any modifications and that ARRL was absolutely opposed to
the amendment. We drafted and submitted a replacement for the amendment
in an effort to eliminate the danger.
Our opposition forced CLEAT to consider accepting our redraft of
their amendment. However, we deemed their attempts to modify our draft
unacceptable and we notified the Committee we would not accept their
changes and again opposed the inclusion of the amendment. The amendment
was struck from SB 11.
The Senate refused to accept the House version of SB 11, forcing
the bill to conference committee. The Senate accepted the conference
committee's version on May 27 - the day before the end of the
Legislative Session.
The fight between a rebel group and Speaker Tom Craddick over
control of the House almost doomed SB 11. By its own rules, the
deadline for the House to consider and pass all legislation was
midnight, Sunday, May 27. Before midnight, the rebel group walked off
the House floor, breaking the House quorum - no further business could
be transacted. The House adjourned until 2:00 P.M. Monday, May 28 in
the hope it could reassemble a quorum. It was able to do so; but, being
past the May 27 midnight deadline, 2/3rds of the House had to vote to
suspend its rules in order to consider any bill. If the House voted to
suspend its rules and consider a bill, the bill then had to pass by a
majority vote.
The opposition of certain House members to some of the law
enforcement and Homeland Security provisions of SB 11 was intense,
making it uncertain as to whether enough votes could be mustered to
bring SB 11 to a vote. There never was any opposition to the ham
friendly Articles 2 & 5, but the passage of these provisions hung on
the fate of the entire bill.
After dramatic behind the scenes maneuvering, SB 11 was finally
brought to a vote in the evening, just hours before the session was to
end. SB 11's opponents tried to block consideration by asserting a
total of three points of order, that over a period of hours, were
finally rejected by the Speaker. SB 11 passed by a vote of 139 ayes, 1
nay, with 3 members present, but not voting.
Session Lessons
The ARRL's West Gulf Division Political Action Group was successful on
its first outing: it was effective in preventing four cellular
telephone bills from being passed with language that would have
prohibited all mobile operations; it was successful in blocking an
amendment that would have insanely, but nonetheless, potentially
criminalized the use of any frequency assigned by the FCC to amateur
radio.
And through dedicated effort, it obtained the passage of two statutes
that increase the rights and
privileges available to
radio operators.
We were also successful in establishing ARRL as a credible
representative of amateur radio and an organization that should be
consulted and taken seriously before the passage of legislation
affecting radio communication and emergency operations.
This Session proved the value of having a coordinated team of
knowledgeable hams ready to monitor and engage the Legislature when it
is in session. Absent the groundwork laid before this session, amateur
radio could have been seriously harmed by the legislation that we
opposed.
The "cell phone" bills will be back in the next session. Rep.
Menendez has advised us he intends to again introduce such a bill. It
is probable Sen. Wentworth will also. CLEAT is, at present, still
insistent on having some form of legislation specifically prohibiting
the use of law enforcement, fire
and
Next Session we will have to be vigilant not only for these known
threats, but threats of which we have no current knowledge, but that
are certain to arise from the dark caves of carelessly drafted
legislation and the twisted minds of those who are hostile to amateur
radio or mobile communications.
We want to thank Rep. Jose Menendez for his support of amateur
radio and his agreement to exclude us from the impact of his
legislation.
Even though Sen. Wentworth and we disagreed over the merits of
prohibiting mobile radio operation, the Senator was gracious after we
successfully added our exemption to his bill. Although we disagreed on
that issue, Sen. Wentworth was very supportive of the amateur radio
provisions in SB 11 - both in Committee and on the floor. We thank
Senator Wentworth for that support.
We would be remiss not to extend our deepest appreciation to Sen.
John Carona for ensuring Article 2 and Article 5 were inserted into SB
11, stayed in SB 11 and for protecting us from amendments to SB 11 that
would have damaged amateur radio. We look forward to working with Sen.
Carona again and extend our congratulations to Sen. Carona for his
election as President Pro Tempe of the Senate - a well-deserved honor.
In addition to these and other Legislators, we established good
working relationships with a number of interest groups - relationships
that will benefit amateur radio in future sessions.
Many hams, too numerous to name here, were generous with their
time and support when the call for help went out - without them we
would not have been as effective. On behalf of the West Gulf Division
Political Action Group, I want to thank everyone in the Division who
lent a hand.
I, especially, want to recognize for their long hours and dogged
determination the West Gulf Division's Legislative Action Assistants
who composed the Austin Group: John Robert Stratton, Lee Cooper and
Glen Reid. Without their leadership and expertise we would not have
faired so well. The Division also cannot overlook the support, insight
and wisdom of the Dean of ARRL legislative representatives, Jim
Robinson, STX SGL and the STX SM Ray Taylor.
The West Gulf Division Political Action Group can be proud of its
accomplishments - we did well.
Dr. David A. Woolweaver
Vice Director
Division Legislative Action Chair