SM: Susan Swiderski, AF4FO; ASM/South GA: Marshall Thigpen, W4IS; ASM/Legal: Jim Altman, W4UCK; ASM/Webmaster: Bob Smith, K4PHE; ASM/Youth Activities: Brittney Hancock, KI4WNY; ASM/Youth Advisor: Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM; ASM/Scouting: David Pearce, ABØNG;
ASM/ARES database: Steve Garrison, N4SEG; SEC: Gene Clark, W4AYK; STM: Charles Pennington, K4GK; OOC: Mike Swiderski, K4HBI;
TC: Jim Worsham, W4KXY; PIC: Norm Schklar, WA4ZXV; SGL: Bill Cherepy, WB4WTN; ACC: Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC

Greetings, All.

Uh oh. The GA legislators are back in session, and there are a couple of bills that bear watching by the amateur radio community. The primary targets of these bills are mobile cell phone users, but HB19, introduced by Mary Margaret Oliver, paints amateur radio operators with the same broad brush, and that's under the the label of "driving while distracted- use of wireless communications device". No problem with being held accountable for actually contributing to an accident, for WHATEVER reason, but there is some concern that, in the unlikely event that this bill should pass as written, that over-zealous interpretation of it could jeopardize our right to even have a radio in our vehicle. Her bill is very similar to the one she introduced a few years back, and if you remember, because of the letters you fine folks wrote to your legislators the last time around, she amended the wording of her bill such that amateur radio operators and emergency responders were excluded. Some of you are one step ahead of me and have already contacted your legislator about this bill's most recent incarnation, and I thank you, but for those of you who haven't, I'd suggest that you take a look at how it is currently worded. You can find it at http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/fulltext/hb19.htm

The other bill, HB23, does a better job of focusing on the proper target, and even has an exclusion that covers us. http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/fulltext/hb23.htm

But, as you all know, these bills have a way of changing, so it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on that one, as well. If you aren't sure who your state legislator is or how to contact him, you can find that info by entering your full zip code at http://www.votesmart.org. The very savvy RICK BLACK, K4RAB, suggests that, since both of these bills have now been referred to the Motor Vehicle Committee, that it might be an even better idea to target your letter-writing specifically towards the members of this committee: Chairman- TOM RICE; (who also happens to be a sponsor of HB 23) Vice Chairman- MATT DOLLAR; Secretary- TIM BEARDON; Members- RICK AUSTIN; PAUL BATTLES; ROGER BRUCE; MICHAEL HARDEN; TERRY JOHNSON; BOBBY PARHAM; ALAN POWELL; and JOHN YATES.

Last weekend was the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society's Techfest. All I'll say for now it that it was a resounding success. Wouldn't be surprised to see something similar pop up in south GA in the near future. Details to come in the next newsletter.

I yanked the chain (ever so gently, of course) of my FCC contact yesterday, and was hoping that I'd hear back from him before sending out this mid-monthly summary, but no dice. So I'll tell you what I have to this point, which ain't much. The gentleman from the FCC contacted me before Christmas, and I dutifully gave him the contact information for all of you who'd volunteered to help educate the public about the switch-over to DTV. Since then, nothing. I haven't heard anything more from him, and to the best of my knowledge, he hasn't contacted any of you. I do know that amateur radio operators have been working with the FCC in other parts of the country, but I don't know what the story is here in GA. So volunteers, please be patient. As soon as I know something, I'll let you know.

COMING UP: January 24- STATEWIDE ARES MEETING February 28- DALTON HAMFEST (Let's hope the weather warms up before then!)

SILENT KEYS: BILL(AKA "BILLY BOB")FAUST, AD4AZ; STAN GOLDIN, W2DNO; RICHARD IVEY, SR, KA4MXM; AND LENDON PHILLIPS, N4HDW.

Heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of each of these fine men,

Well folks, that's about it for now. If you have any news for the February newsletter, please send it this way. Until next time, this is AF4FO, signing clear. Take care of yourselves. And each other. 73, Susan

QTC December: K4GK-182; WA4ZXV-146; WA4UJC-70; WB4BIK-42; K4BG-15; K4BAI-6; K4BEH-6

No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

ARRL Georgia Section
Section Manager: Susan K. Swiderski, AF4FO af4fo@arrl.org