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ARRL Board discusses legal issues, licensing

Posted: 28 Jul 2016 11:38 AM PDT
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Yesterday, I received the minutes of the July 2016 ARRL Board meeting. The
minutes are frustratingly vague, but sometimes they provide a little
insight into the workings of the ARRL.

Two thingÂ*stuck out on my first reading of the minutes:

Item 13: Mr. Imlay presented the report of the General Counsel. He
summarized what he termed as a very productive meeting with FCC Special
Counsel Laura Smith, focusing on improvements in the Amateur Auxiliary /
Official Observer program, especially in light of the reduction of FCC
field offices. Ive always thought it would be interesting to be an OO and
wonder if this portends more responsibility and authority for OOs.





Item 20: Mr. Gallagher presented the report of the CEO and entertained
questions. He reported that his focus is currently on prioritizing
resources to work within the recently adopted Strategic Plan. His goal is
to position the organization to be ready to address a new demographic of
potential new licensees in the changing Amateur Radio market landscape. Id
like to hear more about what our new CEO thinks will beÂ*the new demographic.




Item 29: On the motion of Dr. Boehner, seconded by Mr. Olson, it was
unanimously VOTED by roll call, that “Within the Rules and Regulations of
the Field Organization, every instance of theÂ*department name Membership &
Volunteer Programs be replaced with Field Services and Radiosport.' I find
this kind of curious. Sure, its only a name change, but its almost as if
they de-emphasizing membership services and volunteer programs.
Item 41: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that an ad hoc committee be established
to examine the current license exam requirements for the Technician Class
license and make recommendations for change, including consideration of a
new entry license class, to the Board for possible changes that might be
recommended to create a more targeted examination with a more limited set
of privileges that would attract a new generation of amateurs. This was
proceeded by a lot of whereases that basically say that weve been without a
Novice Class license for beginners for 15 years, and that the requirements
and privelegesÂ*of the Tech license might not be the most appropriate for
newcomers. I know that Ive received e-mail supporting a very simple
beginners license, one that requires passing a very simple test and giving
the recipient some very limited priveleges. Â*Im not sure that we need a
fourth license class, though. What do you think?


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