103rd Congress                                              10/15 Print
1st Session                                                 (Text Only)

                                 H.R.2623

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 in order to facilitate utilization
       of volunteer resources on behalf of the Amateur Radio Service.
                     ________________________________

                      IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                               June 13, 1993

     Mr. Slattery introduced the following bill; which was
     read and referred to the Energy and Commerce Committee
                    __________________________________

                                  A BILL

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 in order to facilitate utilization 
of volunteer resources on behalf of the Amateur Radio Service.

     Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION I. SHORT TITLE
     This Act may be cited as the "Amateur Radio Volunteer Services
Act of 1993." 
SECTION II. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
     (a) Findings. - The Congress finds and declares that - 
          (1) Since 1982, following the enactment of P.L. 97-259,
the Federal Communications Commission has been authorized to
utilize volunteer assistance of licensees in the Amateur Radio
Service for:
               (A) the preparation and administration of amateur
radio license examinations, and 
               (B) on-air monitoring for violations in the Amateur
Radio Service;
          (2) these volunteer services provided by individual
amateur radio licensees have greatly enhanced the self-regulatory
character of the Service, and have saved the Commission countless
hours of staff time and other resources; and           
          (3) the success of these volunteer programs to date
should be noted, encouraged and expanded;
          (4) Public Law 102-538 now authorizes the Commission to
accept the voluntary, uncompensated and unreimbursed services of
amateur radio organizations in administration of club and military
recreation station call signs; 
          (5) a principal threat to the continuation of each of
these programs is the perception that volunteers put personal
assets at risk in the event of actions against them, as the result
of their provision of the volunteer services;
          (6) this perception may result in non-participation of
volunteers or withdrawal from volunteer service; 
          (7) the protection of voluntarism in these specific
programs, through clarification and limitation of the personal
risks assumed by the volunteer in connection with such
participation in these enumerated programs, is necessary and
reasonable.



Amateur Radio Volunteer Services Act of 1993.
Page Two

     (b) Purpose. - It is the purpose of this Act to -
          (1) protect the provision of volunteer services to the
Federal Communications Commission as provided for in the 


Communications Act of 1934, as amended, in the administration of
the Amateur Radio Service; and
          (2) sustain the availability of volunteer programs which
benefit the Amateur Radio Service, which has provided a model of
self-administration and self-enforcement among the radio services
administered by the Federal 
Communications Commission. 

SECTION III. FACILITATION OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES TO THE FEDERAL
COMMUNICATIONS      COMMISSION IN PROGRAMS BENEFITTING THE AMATEUR
                    RADIO SERVICE

     Section 4(f)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended
[47 U.S.C. 4(f)(4)], is hereby amended to include a new
subparagraph (K) to read as follows:
          (K) Except as provided otherwise herein, no
     individual licensee in the Amateur Radio Service who
     provides volunteer services pursuant to subparagraphs
     (A), (B) and (C) of this paragraph, or pursuant to
     paragraph (g)(3)(B) hereinbelow, shall incur personal
     financial responsibility for any alleged damage, loss or
     injury from any act or omission of the volunteer from the
     provision of such volunteer services, if such individual
     was acting in good faith and within the scope of such
     individual's official function and duties in providing
     the volunteer services as defined in subparagraphs (A),
     (B) or (C) of this paragraph, or as defined in paragraph
     (g)(3)(B); and provided that such damage, loss or injury
     was not caused by willful and wanton misconduct by such
     individual.