[Phillip Beall]

February 8, 2025

Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act Re-Introduced

Legislation Will Increase Communication Options During Natural Disasters

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn., and Representatives August Pfluger, R-Tex., and Joe Courtney, D-Conn. announced their joint re-introduction of legislation in the Senate and House to restore the right to Amateur Radio operators to install the antennas necessary to serve their communities.

Homeowner association rules often prevent Amateur Radio operators from installing antennas at their homes even though Amateur Radio has proven to be essential in emergencies and natural disasters such as hurricanes when other means of communication fail.

“Mississippians should have access to every possible means of warning for natural disasters, including amateur radio operators. In an emergency, those warnings can mean the difference between life and death,” Senator Wicker said. “The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act would remove unnecessary roadblocks that could help keep communities safe during emergencies like tornadoes, hurricanes, and fires.”

“When disaster strikes, amateur radio operators provide vital, often life-saving information, which shouldn’t be hindered by prohibitive rules or confusing approval processes. The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act eliminates obstacles for ham radio enthusiasts, allowing them to continue their communications and serve their communities in the face of emergencies,” said Senator Blumenthal.

“Natural disasters and other emergency situations that hinder our regular lines of communication are unfortunately unavoidable, which is why we must bolster our emergency preparedness by removing the barriers amateur radio operators often run into when installing antennas. Amateur radio plays a vital role in public safety by delivering critical information to people at all times. My district is home to dozens of amateur radio operators ready to volunteer in the event of an emergency, and I am proud to lead this legislation,” said Congressman August Pfluger.

“As we know from recent natural disasters, amateur radio operators in Connecticut can be a critical component of disaster response and emergency management. It is in our communities’ best interest that we give them the capabilities to operate at the highest level, and with the re-introduction of this bill, we’ve taken a strong step in that direction,” said Congressman Courtney.

Background:

The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act of 2025 (H.R. 1094 and S. 459) would require homeowner associations to accommodate the needs of FCC-licensed Amateur Radio operators by prohibiting the enforcement of private land use restrictions that ban, prevent, or require the approval of the installation or use of Amateur Radio station antennas. Homeowner associations have often prevented installation and use of such antennas through private land use restrictions. This has hindered voluntary training for emergency situations and blocked access to necessary communications when disaster strikes.

Among other provisions, this legislation would:

• Prohibit homeowner association rules that would prevent or ban Amateur Radio antennas;
• Specify an approval process for installing Amateur Radio antennas;
• Provide a Federal private right of action to Amateur Radio operators in disputed cases.

On behalf of America’s Amateur Radio licensees, Rick Roderick, the President of The American Radio Relay League, re-confirmed the ARRL’s full support for the passage of the Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act of 2025 and extended his thanks and appreciation to Senators Wicker and Blumenthal and Congressmen Pfluger and Courtney for their unflagging leadership of the bi-partisan effort to support and protect the rights of all Amateur Radio Operators.

The text of the House version can be found at this link.

Copyright © 2025 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated. Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution. All other purposes require written permission.

ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio®

[Steven Smith]

Phillip,

 

Thanks for posting this.

Here is a bit more info….

First off this Bill would not even be where it is so far
without our ARRL Division Director John Robert Stratton N5AUS
He has spent countless hours working on this with Congress and the staff of several member of Congress
Most of it in person in Washington DC utilizing Lobbying Funds provided by the ARRL and well as his own funds.
Mr. Stratton is a Volunteer, just like I am.

If you are thinking how can you help see this legislation move forward………

SM049 – Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act Re-Introduced
February 11, 2025
Legislation Will Increase Communication Options During Natural Disasters

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn., and Representatives August Pfluger, R-Tex., and Joe Courtney, D-Conn. announced their joint re-introduction of legislation in the Senate and House to restore the right to Amateur Radio operators to install the antennas necessary to serve their communities.

Here in Oklahoma, we ask all amateur radio clubs and individuals to visit https://ok.arrl.org/hoa/. This page has all of our contact information and template letters. Please note that all letters should be sent to the email and address listed. Letters emailed to legislators tend to get lost in the cleansing process. ARRL will aggregate these letters and deliver them directly to our senators and representatives. If you don’t live in an HOA, please complete a letter to make sure those in the HOAs will be there to contact you.

Please fill out the letters as soon as possible.
Follow the instructions on that Oklahoma page closely
Please do not send printed or emailed letters direct to your representatives, this is because Mr. Stratton plans on delivering the large stack of documents to the respective members of congress to visually show the demand from their constituents.
This is a much more powerful method that a few hundred or even thousand emails getting filtered in an inbox and someone later over looks.

Again this is currently just a Bill,
we need it to become Law.

For many of us in the Rural areas this Bill does not mean much to us.
However, for many North Texans that need to live in the more densely populated Metro areas
This Bill becoming Law means a great deal.

Ask questions here or direct by email to myself
KG5VK@ARRL.ORG

Please use the Oklahoma Section website for reference  https://ok.arrl.org/hoa/
You can also send your feedback and or letters direct to myself and I will get them to Mr. Stratton
Or bring them to the next club meeting or Saturday Morning breakfast.

Cheers!
Steve
KG5VK

ARRLNTX Section Manager

[Steven Smith]

A Boiler plated letter for use by fellow Texans to use
Please do NOT change the <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>body</span> of the letter
Date it and <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>hand</span> sign it and place your address at the bottom in the appropriate area

You may mail it to me and or give it to me at this weekends club meeting
If you have already sent such a letter to our Division Director then please disregard.

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>It is important that these are signed by hand</span>
<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>and that John Robert Stratton our West Gulf ARRL Division Director is able to Hand carry these to the Legislators</span>
Not be emailed or individually mailed to the Congress persons.

My address

Steven L Smith
125 Contest Ln
Ben Franklin, Texas
75415

 

————————————————————————————————————————

[Date]

 

The Honorable August Pfluger, R-Texas

U.S. House of Representatives

The Honorable August Pfluger
330 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Re: SM049 – Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act

Dear Congressman, Pfluger

I am one of your constituents and I am an FCC licensed Amateur Radio Operator.

I strongly support — and I write to ask you to support and co-sponsor H.R. 4006 — legislation that is vital to the survival of Amateur Radio.  Amateur Radio faces an existential threat as 80% of all new housing developments carry private land use restrictions that prohibit all Amateur Radio antennas, including many that are indistinguishable from satellite and broadcast antennas that are permitted by federal law as a matter of right.

SM049 The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act would provide Radio Amateurs the freedom to operate their stations from their homes, a right effectively denied by private land use restrictions. The bill would accomplish this by extending the same federal protections to Amateur Radio operators as those currently enjoyed by homeowners who install TV antennas, satellite TV dishes, wireless internet antennas, and free-standing flagpoles.

Amateur Radio operators have a 109+ year history of volunteer support to local governments, state governments and Federal agencies when communications and related expertise is needed at times of disasters and other emergencies. Amateur Radio also has, and continues to, serve as a gateway for the youth of America to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. It has been the foundation for the careers of a significant number of the leaders in American communications and technology. As an example, the first private satellite launched into space, Oscar 1, was designed and launched by Amateur Radio operators. Today almost every astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS) is licensed as an Amateur Radio operator. When in space they use some of their free time to talk with students across the world to interest them in space, technology, and related fields.

I request your support for, and co-sponsorship of, SM049 -The Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act to eliminate the threat to Amateur Radio. I would be honored to meet with you, or your staff, within the District to discuss my concerns or to have Amateur Radio’s representatives meet with you in Washington.

 

Sincerely,

_______[ Name]____________

_______[ Address]____________

_______[ Address]____________

_______[ Telephone Number – OPTIONAL]____________

[Steven Smith]

I got asked where were any links to more about this Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act

My response is………

A link to the text appears in the 2.19.25 ARES letter and the 2.13.25 ARRL Letter.

The text also can be found at https://www.arrl.org/news/amateur-radio-emergency-preparedness-act-re-introduced?

Any further questions please ask

Steve
KG5VK

[Author]

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