[AARA] FCC License Fee Proposal

[Herman Campbell]

The FCC is is proposing to charge $50.00 for new licenses, renewal of 
license and Vanity Calls.
Please read details and file your opinions and be heard.  This is very 
important to all hams.
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SB QST @ ARL $ARLB021
*FCC Proposes to Institute Amateur Radio Application Fees*

Amateur radio licensees would pay a $50 fee for each amateur radio 
license application if the FCC adopts rules it
proposed last week. Included in the FCC's fee proposal are applications 
for new licenses, renewal and upgrades to
existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. Excluded are 
applications for administrative updates, such as changes
of address, and annual regulatory fees.

The FCC proposal is contained in a /Notice of Proposed Rulemaking/ 
(/NPRM/ <https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-116A1.pdf>) in 
MD Docket 20-270, which was adopted
to implement portions of the "Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for 
Users of Modern Services Act" of 2018 -- the
so-called "Ray Baum's Act 
<https://www.congress.gov/115/plaws/publ141/PLAW-115publ141.pdf>."

The Act requires that the FCC switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee 
structure to a cost-based system of assessment.
In its /NPRM/, the FCC proposed application fees for a broad range of 
services that use the FCC's Universal Licensing System
(ULS), including the Amateur Radio Service that had been excluded by an 
earlier statute. The new statute excludes the
Amateur Service from annual regulatory fees, but not from application fees.

"[A]pplications for personal licenses are mostly automated and do not 
have individualized staff costs for data input or
review," the FCC said in its /NPRM/. "For these automated processes -- 
new/major modifications, renewal, and minor
modifications -- we propose a nominal application fee of $50 due to 
automating the processes, routine ULS maintenance,
and limited instances where staff input is required."

The same $50 fee would apply to all Amateur Service applications, 
including those for vanity call signs. "Although there
is currently no fee for vanity call signs in the Amateur Radio Service, 
we find that such applications impose similar costs
in aggregate on Commission resources as new applications and therefore 
propose a $50 fee," the FCC said.
The FCC is not proposing to charge for administrative updates such as 
mailing address changes, and amateur radio will
remain exempt from annual regulatory fees. "For administrative updates 
[and] modifications, which also are highly
automated, we find that it is in the public interest to encourage 
licensees to update their [own] information without a
charge," the FCC said.

The FCC also proposes to assess a $50 fee for individuals who want a 
printed copy of their license. "The Commission has
proposed to eliminate these services -- but to the extent the Commission 
does not do so, we propose a fee of $50 to cover
the costs of these services," the FCC said.

The FCC dropped assessment of fees for vanity call signs several years 
ago, but the Ray Baum's Act does not exempt filing
fees in the Amateur Radio Service.

ARRL is reviewing the matter and intends to file comments in opposition.

Deadlines for comments and reply comments will be determined once the 
/NPRM/ appears in the /Federal Register/. File comments
by using the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS 
<https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings>), posting to MD Docket No. 20-270. 
This docket is already open for
accepting comments, even though deadlines have not yet been set.

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  ARLB021 FCC Application Fee Proposal Proceeding is Open for Comments 
ZCZC AG21 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 21 ARLB021 From ARRL Headquarters 
Newington CT September 3, 2020 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB021 
ARLB021 FCC Application Fee Proposal Proceeding is Open for Comments 
Comments are being accepted on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) 
in MD Docket 20-270, which proposes application fees for radio amateurs. 
Formal deadlines for comments and reply comments will be determined once 
the NPRM appears in the Federal Register. Comments may be filed now, 
however, by using the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), 
located at, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings , and posting to MD Docket 
No. 20-270. The docket is already open for accepting comments, even 
though deadlines have not yet been set. The NPRM can be found online in 
PDF format at, https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-116A1.pdf 
. NNNN

/EX
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