A Communications Law and Regulatory Update seminar will be among the program offerings Thursday, July 17, at the ARRL Centennial National Convention in Hartford, Connecticut. ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, and San Francisco Section Government Liaison (and Volunteer Counsel) Bart Lee, K6VK, will be the presenters. The ARRL National Legal Seminar will take place from 11 AM until 4:30 PM and includes the Thursday ARRL luncheon on-site.

All participants must sign up for the seminar in advance during the Centennial Convention registration process. The fee for the three-day admission is $75, which includes the special Thursday luncheon as part of the activities. Attorneys intending to attend the Continuing Legal Education seminar, must also complete a second registration online. The fee is $125. Lee’s law firm, Spiegel Liao & Kagay, is the California-registered Continuing Legal Education provider, and is participating in the ARRL Centennial National Convention as a vendor. Attorneys taking advantage of the CLE seminar must pay the fee, whether or not they take advantage of the available Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) credit certification. For more information on the CLE portion of this training track, contact Bart Lee; (415) 956-5959 ext 203.

Attendance at the 1:30 to 4:30 PM session is on an advance-registration space-available basis to non-attorney Amateur Radio operators who wish to become informed on various legal issues. Non-attorney participants will not receive the resource book provided to the attorney participants.

Agenda and Topics

Legal Ethics, 11 AM — 12 Noon (attorneys only)

Representing the Radio Amateur — Know your Client; Credentialing your Client; Volunteer Counsel and Ethical Issues — Relations to Client and to ARRL; Limitations on Scope of Counsel; Other Private Counsel and Management Issues; Attorneys’ Fees and Costs awarded in California’s Palmdale case; Written Agreements; A Suggested Modular Approach to Tasks; Working with Local Officials; Litigation; Working with Homeowners’ Association and Private Developments about CC&R Antenna Restrictions; Lobbying, and Emergency Services.

Lunch: 12:00 — 1:30 PM

Subsantive Legal Issues, 1:30 PM — 5 PM with breaks:

The Federal Communications Commission and 47 CFR Part 97 as amended; Antennas and Administrative, Law PRB -1 Pre-emption of Zoning and similar state laws: The California Palmdale case and unreasonable “Reasonable Accommodation”; California’s Zoning “Reasonable accommodation” Law and its useful legislative history; Local Ordinances; Working with Local Officials: Litigation & Lobbying, and Emergency Services.

Antennas and private land use regulations such as CC&Rs, leases, etc. New developments re CC&Rs and HOAs.

Current legislative issues affecting Amateur Radio facilities, including restrictions on mobile Amateur Radio operation and federal state and local law and cases. Emergency Services exemptions and strategies. Counseling “hands-free” options and text message prohibitions, and state “crop duster” statutes affecting antennas less than 200 feet.

Interference Issues: Primary and Secondary Users of Radio Frequency Spectrum and Part 15 Wireless Devices. Interference from utilities and industrial sites, including RF lighting installations. Making a case to the FCC about RFI. Part 15 and Broadcast over Power Lines (BPL) Update.

Repeater Issues: FCC enforcement issues; Co-ordination of Repeater Frequencies. Interference Issues for Repeaters. State Law Nuisance Actions.