[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3352-S3354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FEINGOLD:
  S. 608. A bill to authorize the enforcement by State and local 
governments of certain Federal Communications Commission regulations 
regarding use of citizens band radio equipment; to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


              CB RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE LEGISLATION

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation designed 
to provide a practical solution to the all too common problem of 
interference with residential home electronic equipment caused by 
unlawful use of citizens band [CB] radios. This problem can be 
extremely distressing for residents who cannot have a telephone 
conversation, watch television, or listen to the radio without being 
interrupted by a neighbor's illegal use of a CB radio. Unfortunately, 
under the current law, those residents have little recourse. The bill I 
am introducing today will provide those residents with a practical 
solution to this problem.
  Up until recently, the FCC has enforced its rules outlining what 
equipment may or may not be used for CB radio transmissions, how long 
transmissions may be broadcast, what channels may be used, as well as 
many other technical requirements. FCC also investigated complaints 
that a CB radio enthusiast's transmissions interfered with a neighbor's 
use of home electronic and telephone equipment. FCC receives thousands 
of such complaints annually.
  Mr. President, for the past 3 years I have worked with constituents 
who have been bothered by persistent interference of nearby CB radio 
transmissions in some cases caused by unlawful use of radio equipment. 
In each case, the constituents have sought my help in securing an FCC 
investigation of the complaint. In each case, Mr. President, the FCC 
indicated that due to a lack of resources, the Commission no longer 
investigates radio frequency interference complaints. Instead of 
investigation and enforcement, the FCC is able to provide only self-
help information which the consumer may use to limit the interference 
on their own.
  In many cases, residents implement the self-help measures recommended 
by FCC such as installing filtering devices to prevent the unwanted 
interference, working with their telephone company, or attempting to 
work with the neighbor they believe is causing

[[Page S3353]]

the interference. In many cases these self-help measures are effective.
  However, in some cases filters and other technical solutions fail to 
solve the problem because the interference is caused by unlawful use of 
CB radio equipment such as unauthorized linear amplifiers.
  Municipal residents, after being denied investigative or enforcement 
assistance from the FCC, frequently contact their city or town 
government and ask them to police the interference. However, the 
Communications Act of 1934 provides exclusive authority to the Federal 
Government for the regulation of radio, preempting municipal ordinances 
or State laws to regulate radio frequency interference caused by 
unlawful use of CB radio equipment. This has created an interesting 
dilemma for municipal governments. They can neither pass their own 
ordinances to control CB radio interference, nor can they rely on the 
agency with exclusive jurisdiction over interference to enforce the 
very Federal law which preempts them.
  Let me give an example of the kind of frustrations people have 
experienced in attempting to deal with these problems. Shannon Ladwig, 
a resident of Beloit, WI has been fighting to end CB interference with 
her home electronic equipment that has been plaguing her family for 
over a year. Shannon worked within the existing system, asking for an 
FCC investigation, installing filtering equipment on her telephone, 
attempting to work with the neighbor causing the interference, and so 
on. Nothing has been effective. Shannon's answering machine picks up 
calls for which there is no audible ring, and at times records ghost 
messages. Often, she cannot get a dial tone when she or her family 
members wish to place an outgoing call. During telephone conversations, 
the content of the nearby CB transmission can frequently be heard and 
on occasion, her phone conversations are inexplicably cut off. Her TV 
transmits audio from the CB transmission rather than the television 
program her family is watching. Shannon never knows if the TV program 
she taped with her VCR will actually record the intended program or 
whether it will contain profanity from a nearby CB radio conversation.

  Shannon did everything she could to solve the problem and a year 
later she still feels like a prisoner in her home, unable to escape the 
broadcasting whims of a CB operator using illegal equipment with 
impunity. Shannon even went to her city council to demand action. The 
Beloit City Council responded by passing an ordinance allowing local 
law enforcement to enforce FCC regulations--an ordinance the council 
knows is preempted by Federal law. Earlier this year, the Beloit City 
Council passed a resolution supporting the legislation I am introducing 
today, which will allow at least part of that ordinance to stand.
  The problems experienced by Beloit residents are by no means isolated 
incidents. I have received very similar complaints from at least 10 
other Wisconsin communities in the last several years in which whole 
neighborhoods are experiencing persistent radio frequency interference. 
Since I have begun working on this legislation, my staff has also been 
contacted by a number of other congressional offices who are also 
looking for a solution to the problem of radio frequency interference 
in their States or districts caused by unlawful CB use. The city of 
Grand Rapids, MI, in particular, has contacted me about this 
legislation because they face a persistent interference problem very 
similar to that in Beloit. In all, FCC receives more than 30,000 radio 
frequency interference complaints annually--most of which are caused by 
CB radios. Unfortunately, FCC no longer has the staff, resources, or 
the field capability to investigate these complaints and localities are 
blocked from exercising any jurisdiction to provide relief to their 
residents.
  The legislation I am introducing today attempts to resolve this 
dilemma by allowing States and localities to enforce existing FCC 
regulations regarding authorized CB equipment and frequencies while 
maintaining exclusive Federal jurisdiction over the regulation of radio 
services. It is a commonsense solution to a very frustrating and real 
problem which cannot be addressed under existing law. Residents should 
not be held hostage to a Federal law which purports to protect them but 
which cannot be enforced.
  This legislation is by no means a panacea for the problem of radio 
frequency interference. My bill is intended only to help localities 
solve the most egregious and persistent problems of interference--those 
caused by unauthorized use of CB radio equipment and frequencies. In 
cases where interference is caused by the legal and licensed operation 
of any radio service, residents will need to resolve the interference 
using FCC self-help measures that I mentioned earlier.
  In many cases, interference can result from inadequate home 
electronic equipment immunity from radio frequency interference. Those 
problems can only be resolved by installing filtering equipment and by 
improving the manufacturing standards of home telecommunications 
equipment. The electronic equipment manufacturing industry, represented 
by the Telecommunications Industry Association and the Electronics 
Industry Association, working with the Federal Communications 
Commission, has adopted voluntary standards to improve the immunity of 
telephones from interference. Those standards were adopted by the 
American National Standards Institute last year. Manufacturers of 
electronic equipment should be encouraged to adopt these new ANSI 
standards. Consumers have a right to expect that the telephones they 
purchase will operate as expected without excessive levels of 
interference from legal radio transmissions. Of course, Mr. President, 
these standards assume legal operation of radio equipment and cannot 
protect residents from interference from illegal operation of CB 
equipment.
  This bill also does not address interference caused by other radio 
services, such as commercial stations or amateur stations. Mr. 
President, last year, I introduced S. 2025, a bill with intent similar 
to that of the bill I am introducing today. The American Radio Relay 
League [ARRL], an organization representing amateur radio operators, 
frequently referred to as ``ham'' operators, raised a number of 
concerns about that legislation. ARRL was concerned that while the bill 
was intended to cover only illegal use of CB equipment, FCC-licensed 
amateur radio operators might inadvertently be targeted and prosecuted 
by local law enforcement. ARRL also expressed concern that local law 
enforcement might not have the technical abilities to distinguish 
between ham stations and CB stations and might not be able to determine 
what CB equipment was FCC-authorized and what equipment is illegal.
  Over the past several months, I have worked with the ARRL 
representatives and amateur operators from Wisconsin to address these 
concerns. As a result of those discussions, the bill I am introducing 
today incorporates a number of provisions suggested by the league. 
First, my legislation makes clear that the limited enforcement 
authority provided to localities in no way diminishes or affects FCC's 
exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of radio. Second, the bill 
clarifies that possession of an FCC license to operate a radio service 
for the operation at issue, such as an amateur station, is a complete 
protection against any local law enforcement action authorized by this 
bill. Amateur radio enthusiasts are not only individually licensed by 
FCC, unlike CB operators, but they also self-regulate. The ARRL is very 
involved in resolving interference concerns both among their own 
members and between ham operators and residents experiencing problems.
  Third, my legislation also provides for an FCC appeal process by any 
radio operator who is adversely affected by a local law enforcement 
action under this bill. FCC will make determinations as to whether the 
locality acted properly within the limited jurisdiction this 
legislation provides. FCC will have the power to reverse the action of 
the locality if local law enforcement acted improperly. And fourth, my 
legislation requires FCC to provide States and localities with 
technical guidance on how to determine whether a CB operator is acting 
within the law.
  Again, Mr. President, my legislation is narrowly targeted to resolve 
persistent interference with home electronic equipment caused by 
illegal CB operation. Under my bill, localities cannot establish their 
own regulations on CB

[[Page S3354]]

use. They may only enforce existing FCC regulations on authorized CB 
equipment and frequencies. This bill will not resolve all interference 
problems and it is not intended to do so. Some interference problems 
need to continue to be addressed by the FCC, the telecommunications 
manufacturing industry, and radio service operators. This bill merely 
provides localities with the tools they need to protect their residents 
while preserving FCC's exclusive regulatory jurisdiction over the 
regulation of radio services.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 608

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

     SECTION 1. ENFORCEMENT OF REGULATIONS REGARDING CITIZENS BAND 
                   RADIO EQUIPMENT.

       Section 302 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
     302) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a State or 
     local government may enforce the following regulations of the 
     Commission under this section:
       ``(A) A regulation that prohibits a use of citizens band 
     radio equipment not authorized by the Commission.
       ``(B) A regulation that prohibits the unauthorized 
     operation of citizens band radio equipment on a frequency 
     between 24 MHz and 35 MHz.
       ``(2) Possession of a station license issued by the 
     Commission pursuant to section 301 in any radio service for 
     the operation at issue shall preclude action by a State or 
     local government under this subsection.
       ``(3) The Commission shall provide technical guidance to 
     State and local governments regarding the detection and 
     determination of violations of the regulations specified in 
     paragraph (1).
       ``(4)(A) In addition to any other remedy authorized by law, 
     a person affected by the decision of a State or local 
     government enforcing a regulation under paragraph (1) may 
     submit to the Commission an appeal of the decision on the 
     grounds that the State or local government, as the case may 
     be, acted outside the authority provided in this subsection.
       ``(B) A person shall submit an appeal on a decision of a 
     State or local government to the Commission under this 
     paragraph, if at all, not later than 30 days after the date 
     on which the decision by the State or local government 
     becomes final.
       ``(C) The Commission shall make a determination on an 
     appeal submitted under subparagraph (B) not later than 180 
     days after its submittal.
       ``(D) If the Commission determines under subparagraph (C) 
     that a State or local government has acted outside its 
     authority in enforcing a regulation, the Commission shall 
     reverse the decision enforcing the regulation.
       ``(5) The enforcement of a regulation by a State or local 
     government under paragraph (1) in a particular case shall not 
     preclude the Commission from enforcing the regulation in that 
     case concurrently.
       ``(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 
     diminish or otherwise affect the jurisdiction of the 
     Commission under this section over devices capable of 
     interfering with radio communications.''.
                                 ______