Missouri House Bill 136, known as the Missouri Amateur Radio Parity Act, is a state-level version of the federal Amateur Radio Parity Act that the A.R.R.L. has been pushing for some time now. If passed, this bill would serve to ease Homeowner’s Association (HOA) / Property Owner’s Association (POA) rules as well as other municipal ordinances and other deed restrictions that prevent licensed amateur radio operators from placing any kind of antennas on their property. While passage of this bill will not necessarily grant anyone anywhere the right to put up that 100-foot-tall Rohn they’ve always dreamed of, it will prevent the prohibition of installing actual antennas upon one’s roof and/or within one’s property lines.
This is the second push for such legislation in Missouri. In 2016, despite a huge show of support throughout the state, House Bill 1951 died when Senator Rob Schaaf, Chairman of the General Laws & Pensions Committee, refused to bring it up in committee for a vote and, consequently, didn’t allow it to be sent to the full Senate floor for debate.
“We now have the opportunity to learn from the past and get our Missouri Bill all the way through to the finish line,” says Larry Scantlan, KE0KZ. Larry is the fire behind this movement.
In a recent email to Southwest Missouri Regional Skywarn, Larry says, “This time we will get organized and ask our partner emergency management agencies (ARES, SEMA, EMA, NWS, Police Chiefs, Fire Chiefs, local politicians, etc) to support this legislation and demonstrate to the legislators that we, in fact, do have significant public support.”
According to Representative Bryan Spencer, sponsor of the Missouri Amateur Radio Parity Act, a hearing for Missouri House Bill 136 in committee has been scheduled for Tuesday, January 24th at noon in hearing room #7 at the State Capitol Building in Jefferson City. You can find a listing of committee members that will be hearing Missouri House Bill 136 on January 24th at this link: http://house.mo.gov/committeeindividual.aspx?com=1476&year=2017&code=R [this link is no longer active]
“Just like last time we will be looking for 3 (or) 4 hams to provide testimony on why this legislation should be passed by this committee.” Larry Scantlan says.
Please support this legislation. Contact your local representative now before the January 24th hearing. To lookup your local Missouri Representative, follow this link: http://house.mo.gov/legislatorlookup.aspx Let them know you support Missouri House Bill 136.
For more information about the Missouri Amateur Radio Parity Act, please visit the following website: [this link is no longer active]