| Betreff: Action Alert: SB 1627 -- Wireless Communications Facilities |
| Von: SArjuna |
| Datum: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 12:02:15 EDT |
Please take a couple of minutes TODAY to e-mail the author of this
bill
and request that she withdraw it. (See e-address below.) Include some
reasons. (Good ones listed below.) Send her some research!
Send a copy to the assembly chair as well.
If this passes in CA, you'll probably be looking at the same in your
state/province/
Shivani Arjuna
Life Energies
Action Alert: SB 1627 -- Wireless Communications Facilities
A bill in the California State Legislature, Senate Bill (SB) 1627,
proposes
to further erode local control over wireless communications facilities
permitting and management. If this bill passes, it will set a national
precedent that
other states may follow.
In brief, this bill:
• requires local governments to approve co-locations (additions of
antennas at or near to existing sites) with limited public review
• explicitly takes co-location out of the jurisdiction of local
governments, which sets the stage for the industry to argue that no
wireless
siting should be regulated by localities
• undermines communities’ rights to: restrict the locations of
antennas sites, require bonds for removal of sites, and issue permits
of less
than 10 years for antenna sites
SB 1627, sponsored by T-Mobile and other wireless carriers, passed the
CA
Senate and is scheduled to be reviewed by the California Assembly
Appropriations
Committee on Wednesday August 16 (same bill number). If it passes the
Appropriations Committee, it goes to the full Assembly for final
approval in late
August.
We have listed below a number of reasons to protect local control over
wireless facility siting, which are all reasons to oppose SB 1627. The
revised
version of the bill, as of August 8, 2006, can be accessed by going to
http://www.leginfo.
We strongly urge you to immediately contact Senator Christine
Kehoe, the
author of the bill in the California State Senate, and ask her to
withdraw this
bill. Senator Kehoe's contact information is:
State Capitol
Room 3086
Sacramento CA 95814
(916) 651-4039
Fax (916) 327-2188
Email: Senator.Kehoe@
Also, please contact Judy Chu, Chairperson of Assembly Appropriations,
where
the bill will next be reviewed (August 15) and ask her to oppose this
bill.
Assembly member Chu’s contact information is:
Capitol Office
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0049
Assemblymember.
Phone: (916) 319-2049
Fax: (916) 319-2149
Members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee are listed below.
Reasons to Protect Local Control Over Wireless Telecommunications
Facilities
· Federal law explicitly preserves local zoning authority over
cell sites
under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, with only specific,
limited
restrictions.
· Recent court decisions in California have affirmed, clarified,
and
expanded local authority (see MetroPCS v. City and County of San
Francisco 400 F.3d
715 (9th Cir. 2005)[1] and Sprint Telephony PCS v. County of San Diego,
et al.,
(2006) 44 Cal.Rptr.3d 754 (California Court of Appeals for the Fourth
Appellate District).[2]
· Corporate money and influence should not be allowed to trump
existing law
and its reasoned judicial interpretation when court rulings are not
entirely
favorable to the wireless industry.
· Preservation of local control fosters democracy by providing
for direct
participation in decision making by those most directly impacted by a
proposed
cellular site.
· Local land use controls permitted under the federal
Telecommunications Act
of 1996 that allow for minimizing the number of antennas sites should
not be
undermined given the mounting evidence of adverse health and biological
effects of chronic exposure to the continuous, low-level microwave
radiation
emissions from cellular antennas and other wireless transmitters.
· Although the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits
consideration of health and environmental effects in local government
antenna-permitting
decisions, the growing body of evidence on adverse health effects
associated
with exposure to antenna emissions is sufficient reason to apply the
Precautionary Principle to avoid passing state legislation that
encourages unregulated
proliferation of cellular antenna sites.
· Because the liability risks associated with unchecked
proliferation of
these potentially dangerous cellular antenna sites could be enormous
for property
owners – including, for example, the State of California, which
owns public
school property where cellular sites may be erected – it is prudent to
maintain local community authority to minimize the number and regulate
the location
of sites in sensitive areas.
· The wireless industry is making a concerted effort nationwide
to undermine
local and state regulation over wireless networks in the interests of
maximizing its profits and convenience. If the industry is
successful in California –
e.g., through SB 1627 – this victory, in a state viewed by the rest of
the
nation as environmentally progressive will set a dangerous precedent.
California Assembly Appropriations Committee Members
*If you live in California, please send a copy of your email or letter
to
your State Assembly representative.
Contact name
Party-District
Phone
How to Contact
Assembly Appropriations
Committee
(916) 319-2081
Steve Shays: Staff person for SB 1627
Judy Chu, Chair
Dem-49
(916) 319-2049
Capitol Office
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0049
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2149
Monterey Park, El Monte
Sharon Runner, Vice Chair
Rep-36
916) 319-2036
State Capitol, Room 6031
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0036
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2136
Victorville, Lancaster
Karen Bass
Dem-47
(916) 319-2047
State Capitol
Room 2117
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0047
Assemblymember.
Fax:(916) 319-2147
Los Angeles
Patty Berg
Dem-1
(916) 319-2001
State Capitol
Room
4146
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0001
assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2101
Santa Rosa
Ronald S. Calderon
Dem-58
(916) 319-2058
State Capitol
Room 4016
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0058
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2158
Montebello
Hector De La Torre
Dem-50
(916) 319-2050
State Capitol
Room
4162
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0050
assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319 - 2150
South Gate
Bill Emmerson
Rep-63
(916) 319-2063
State Capitol
Room
3149
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0063
assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2163
Rancho Cucamonga
Ray Haynes
Rep-66
(916) 319-2066
State Capitol
Room
4158
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0066
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2166
Temucula
Betty Karnette
Dem-54
(916) 319-2054
State Capitol
Room 2176
Sacramento, CA
94249-0054
Assemblymember.
Long Beach
Johan Klehs
Dem-18
(916) 319-2018
State Capitol
Room
5150
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0018
Fax: (916) 319-2118
Hayward
Mark Leno
Dem-13
(916) 319-2013
State Capitol
Room
3146
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0013
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2113
San Francisco
Alan Nakanish
Rep-10
(916) 319-2010
State Capitol
Room
5175
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0010
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2110
Lodi
Joe Nation
Dem-6
(916) 319-2006
State Capitol
Room 5119
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0006
Fax: (916) 319-2106
Marin
Jenny Oropeza
Dem-55
(916) 319-2055
State Capitol
Room 2148
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0055
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2155
Carson
Mark Ridley-Thomas
Dem-48
(916) 319-2048
State Capitol
Room
3152
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0048
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319 - 2148
Los Angeles
Lori Saldana
Dem-76
(916) 319-2076
State
Capitol
Room
3132
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0076
Fax: (916) 319 - 2176
San Diego
Mimi Walters
Rep-73
916) 319-2073
State Capitol
Room
4116
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0073
Fax: (916) 319-2173
Laguna Nigel
Leland Yee
Dem-12
(916) 319-2012
State Capitol
Room
3173
Sacramento,
CA
94249-0012
Assemblymember.
Fax: (916) 319-2112
San Francisco
It Is very important that we let our voices be heard on this bill.
Prepared by:
Libby Kelley, Council on Wireless Technology Impacts (CWTI)
libbykelley@
Doug Loranger, San Francisco Neighborhood Antenna Free Union (SNAFU)
loranger@california
Nan Wishner, Cell Tower Free Albany (CTFA)
nwishner@mindspring
[1] opinion available at:
http://www.ca9.
[2] opinion available at:http://www.courtinf
.ca.gov/opinions/