Michigan becomes the 31st state to pass a PRB-1 Law

Larry, WB8R, the Michigan Section Manager just e-mailed. “Greetings, At approximately 3:00 PM this afternoon, Governor Snyder signed Senate Bill 0493 into Michigan law. It will be known as PA 556 and Michigan becomes the 31^st state to pass a PRB-1 Law.”

The complete text of the bill can be found online. The most relevant part reads,

(2) An amateur radio service station antenna structure may be erected at heights and dimensions sufficient to accommodate amateur radio service communications. Regulation of an amateur radio service station antenna structure by a local unit of government must not preclude amateur radio service communications. Rather, it must reasonably accommodate those communications and must constitute the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish the local unit of government’s legitimate purpose.

The section leadership deserves a lot of credit for their persistence on this. It’s taken years of effort to get this done.

UPDATE 1/16/15:

Here is a more complete message from our section manager:

Greetings to the Hams of Michigan:

I have some very exciting news to share with you: Michigan now has a PRB-1 law! On the afternoon of January 15, 2015, Governor Snyder signed Senate Bill 0493 into law. It has been designated as Public Act 556.

Today’s actions come as the culmination of 3 years work on behalf of the current PRB-1 team, which consists of Ed Hude, WA8QJE, State Government Liaison; Butch Hedges, KD8NKJ, Local Government Liaison; Hal Thomas, N8HAL, Local Government Liaison; Raoul Revord, W8RDR, Legal Advisor; Jay Nugent, WB8TKL, Webmaster; Pat Mullet, KC8RTW, Public Information Officer; Dale Williams, WA8EFK, Advisor, and Larry Camp, WB8R, Michigan Section Manager.

At this point, I would like to recognize and thank the group of individuals who have worked on this project in the past, going back approximately 10 years, who laid the groundwork for the successful completion of this effort.

I want to thank the hundreds of hams in Michigan who responded to the many calls to action over the past months as our effort gained momentum. The response was nothing short of tremendous. Each time we asked for emails to be sent or phone calls to be made, the response was outstanding. The feedback that we received about the Michigan hams communicating with various state offices was excellent! We received many positive comments about the polite, succinct response of the hams of Michigan.

Hams of Michigan, you have faithfully represented the very best of amateur radio in rising to the occasion for the benefit of your fellow amateurs. You have my sincere appreciation.