[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2623 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                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

                             July 13, 1993

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Amateur Radio Volunteer Services Act 
of 1933''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) since 1982, following the enactment of Public Law 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;
            (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 nonparticipation of 
        volunteers or withdrawal from volunteer service; and
            (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.
    (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.

SEC. 3. FACILITATION OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES TO THE FEDERAL 
              COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION IN PROGRAMS BENEFITING THE 
              AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE.

    Section 4(f)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
4(f)(4)) is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
new subparagraph:
    ``(K) Except as provided otherwise herein, no individual licensee 
in the Amateur Radio Service who provides volunteer services pursuant 
to subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph, or pursuant to 
subsection (g)(3)(B), 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--
            ``(i) 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 subparagraph 
        (A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph, or as defined in subsection 
        (g)(3)(B); and
            ``(ii) such damage, loss, or injury was not caused by 
        willful and wanton misconduct by such individual.''.

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