AG16
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 16  ARLB016
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  November 1, 2018
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB016
ARLB016 ARRL Executive Committee Updated on Regulatory, Governance
Issues

ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, chaired the ARRL Executive
Committee (EC) meeting on October 20 in Bloomington, Minnesota.
During his opening comments, President Roderick said his membership
contacts have indicated that strong support exists for the
Entry-Level License Enhancement petition to the FCC as well as for
the Volunteer Monitor Program that would supplant the current
Official Observers.

General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, told the EC that the Amateur
Radio Parity Act remains alive in Congress as part of the
House-passed version of the Financial Services and General
Government authorization Act (FSGG). The measure now is before a
House-Senate conference committee to resolve differences between the
versions passed by each house. Imlay indicated that administrative
implementation of the bill's provisions remains on the table should
the act not be included in the FSGG authorization bill.

Imlay said that ARRL is awaiting final approval from the FCC of a
new Memorandum of Understanding for the Amateur Auxiliary.
Discussions are under way with key players planning the rollout and
implementation of the Volunteer Monitor program.

The EC also was told that the FCC has yet to reply to ARRL's
concerns regarding a recent FCC Enforcement Advisory that addressed
the importation and use of non-certified radios, which have been
marketed to the general public. ARRL officials recently conferred
with FCC officials about the Advisory, expressing concerns about a
portion of the notice that called on radio amateurs possessing such
radios not to use them. ARRL officials believe there was no valid
legal basis for that assertion in the notice. The EC directed Imlay
to prepare a 'white paper' explaining ARRL's position on the issue
to inform members in response to inquiries.

The FCC Enforcement Advisory can be found in PDF format at,
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-18-980A1.pdf .

In another FCC matter, ARRL officials met with the chief and staff
members of the FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to urge more
rapid FCC resolution of a series of long-pending rulemaking
proceedings now before the Bureau. Most urgent are the long-delayed
'symbol rate' petition (WT Docket 16-239) and the ARRL's Entry-Level
License Enhancement petition. The FCC has not yet put the latter
petition on public notice for comment.

In other action, the Committee directed the Board's National
Broadband Plan Committee to continue monitoring potential threats to
the 5.850 - 5.925 GHz, 10 GHz, and 24 GHz bands. Amateur allocations
within the so-called 'mid-band' spectrum (3.7 - 7.125 GHz) now are
under consideration for fixed and mobile broadband allocation.

On the subject of the ARRL Policy on Board Governance and Conduct of
Members of the Board of Directors and Vice Directors, the EC
considered and extensively discussed two proposed restatements of
that policy. The EC adopted a motion to recommend a draft proposal
prepared by the committee appointed by the President to the full
Board, with a draft prepared by Imlay also presented as an
alternative. The Board holds its next regular meeting in January.

The EC also received a status report on the review of Ethics and
Elections Guidelines to be presented to the Board in January. The ad
hoc committee formed for the purpose will circulate its proposal 60
days in advance of the January Board meeting.

Minutes of the October 20 EC meeting, in PDF format, have been
posted at,
www.arrl.org/files/file/2018%20Board%20of%20Directors/ECMinutesOct2018FinalV2.pdf
.