H.R. 1094 — Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act

This section establishes the short title as the “Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act.”

This section makes findings that more than 770,000 amateur radio operators are licensed in the United States, that amateur radio provides emergency communications and technical training, and that private land use restrictions, including restrictive covenants, can prevent amateur operators from installing effective outdoor antenna structures at their residences. It also states that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has long limited state and local regulation of amateur station antenna structures to the minimum practicable regulation needed to serve legitimate local purposes, that Congress directed the FCC in 1996 to preempt certain private land use restrictions affecting television, satellite, and wireless internet reception and service, and that similar preemption should apply to private land use restrictions that prohibit, restrict, or impair amateur operators from operating, installing, or maintaining effective outdoor amateur station antenna structures.

This section establishes a new Communications Act provision, 47 U.S.C. § 346, that limits the enforcement of private land use restrictions against amateur station antennas. It prohibits private covenants, homeowners’ association rules, and similar restrictions from prohibiting, restricting, or impairing an amateur operator’s ability to operate, install, or maintain an amateur station antenna on property under the operator’s control, except as specifically allowed. As background, amateur station antennas are used by licensed amateur radio operators for noncommercial radio communications, including emergency and public-service communications. The section permits only specified restrictions, including requirements that antennas comply with manufacturer specifications, applicable zoning ordinances, amateur radio tower ordinances, and building codes; be maintained in a structurally safe condition; have deteriorated or unsafe components repaired, replaced, or removed; be removed when the property is no longer under an amateur operator’s control; and screen certain ground-mounted enclosures or guy wire anchors when visible from the street or an adjoining property. The section also limits prior-approval requirements by providing that: (1) a prior-approval requirement may not be enforced if it was not in the publicly recorded land records before the amateur operator purchased or leased the property; (2) an application for antenna approval may not require more or more detailed information than an application for any other improvement; (3) an application is deemed approved on the 45th day after submission if the enforcing entity does not act; and (4) once an application is approved, no further approval may be required unless there is a material change in the antenna’s dimensions or structural integrity. In addition, the section bars prior-approval requirements for specified antennas, including: (1) antennas less than 1 meter in diameter or diagonal measurement, or other measurements prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission; (2) dual-use flagpole antennas not greater than 43 feet in height; (3) minimally obtrusive wire antennas of a length necessary for the intended frequency of use; and (4) vertical antennas, including collapsible whip and tilt-over antennas, not to exceed 43 feet in height. It defines property under an amateur operator’s control to include property the operator owns, leases, or legally occupies, and treats limited common areas subject to an operator’s exclusive use as property under the operator’s control.