Tnx for posting this Mark.   I had been following the  passage of this bill 
over the past week or so, but didn't know the back story of how it all came 
about.   I live in a tower unfriendly town in PA, and  this is good news to 
me.

73, Steve KW3A
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Senk, Mark J. (CDC/NIOSH/NPPTL)" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 2:52 PM
Subject: Blind ham credited with Pennsylvania tower legislation


> Pennsylvania Becomes 27th State with PRB-1 Law on Books
> On Wednesday, October 8, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell (D)
> signed into law a bill that guarantees radio amateurs the right to erect
> antenna support structures up to 65 feet without the need for a Special
> Use Permit. The bill passed in the House with a vote of 196-1; it passed
> in the Senate with a vote of 49-1. The new law is scheduled to go into
> effect December 8, 60 days after signing.
> Senate Bill 884 (now Act 88), An Act amending Title 53 (Municipalities
> Generally) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Restricting
> Municipalities from Regulating Amateur Radio Service Communications, was
> first introduced on June 1, 2007 by Pennsylvania Senator Stewart J.
> Greenleaf (R) who represents portions of Bucks and Montgomery Counties.
> The bill requires local municipalities to "reasonably accommodate
> amateur radio service communications, and [to] impose only the minimum
> regulations necessary to accomplish the legitimate purpose of the
> municipality" and says that "[n]o ordinance, regulation, plan or any
> other action shall restrict amateur radio antenna height to less than 65
> feet above ground level, [but a] municipality may impose necessary
> regulations to ensure the safety of amateur radio antenna structures,
> but must reasonably accommodate amateur service communications."
> The driving force behind the bill's passage was George Brechmann, N3HBT,
> of Warminster. "We didn't have a PRB-1 law and I just got tired of
> people telling me it couldn't be done," he told the ARRL. "So I called
> up my senator's local office and told them what I wanted. They referred
> it to his Harrisburg office and a while later, I got a call from Senator
> Geeenleaf's executive assistant Eric Pauley wanting more information."
> Brechmann said the bill was stuck in committee "for the longest time,
> with lots of back-and-forth. Fortunately, they were able to reach a
> compromise with the help of the League and its General Counsel Chris
> Imlay, W3KD. This act even encompasses the urban areas of Philadelphia
> and Pittsburgh, so now every ham in the commonwealth can get a tower."
> Brechmann, who has a 60 foot crank-up tower in his backyard, says he has
> no plans to get a taller antenna support structure.
> Brechmann said he found out about the bill's passing in the most
> appropriate of ways -- on the radio. "I'm the trustee at the club
> station, K3DN, at our senior center; we have about 130 members there. I
> went over on Tuesday evening to unlock the doors and get the rigs going,
> when my wife Elaine, N3TMP, called me to tell me the bill had passed the
> House. Five minutes later, she called me again to tell me it had passed
> the Senate! And now the governor signed it as soon as it reached his
> desk."
> Saying that getting this bill passed is his "little contribution to
> posterity," Brechmann said he is glad to be able to do something good
> for the amateur community "because they have been so very good to me.
> I'm blind, and Amateur Radio has been a very large part of my life."
> Brechmann stays active ragchewing on 15 meters "and 10 when it's open,"
> as well as serving as Net Control and coordinating his township's public
> service events.
> ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager Eric Olena, WB3FPL, said he
> was "thrilled" with the bill's passage: "The Pennsylvania Legislature
> showed overwhelming support of Amateur Radio [by passing this bill].
> This legislation started by George and coordinated with Senator
> Greenleaf and Representative Kathy Watson (R), and Pennsylvania hams
> made an outstanding effort contacting their senators and
> representatives. By seeking their support, they really helped with the
> success of this legislation. The effort by all hams throughout the
> country to foster Amateur Radio as an effective communications method in
> emergencies did much to highlight a valued reputation for Amateur Radio,
> and without a doubt, had an effect on these proceedings."
>