For those who don't receive this directly.
Lou Kolb
Voice-over Artist:
Radio/TV Ads, Video narrations
Messages On-hold:
www.loukolb.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ARRL Web site" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2015 11:56 AM
Subject: ARLB019 FCC Eliminates Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Regulatory 
Fee


> SB QST @ ARL $ARLB019
> ARLB019 FCC Eliminates Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Regulatory Fee
>
> ZCZC AG19
> QST de W1AW
> ARRL Bulletin 19  ARLB019
> From ARRL Headquarters
> Newington CT  May 26, 2015
> To all radio amateurs
>
> SB QST ARL ARLB019
> ARLB019 FCC Eliminates Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Regulatory Fee
>
> The FCC is eliminating the regulatory fee to apply for an Amateur
> Radio vanity call sign. The change will not go into effect, however,
> until required congressional notice has been given. This will take
> at least 90 days. As the Commission explained in a Notice of
> Proposed Rulemaking, Report and Order, and Order (MD Docket 14-92
> and others), released May 21, it's a matter of simple economics.
>
> "The Commission spends more resources on processing the regulatory
> fees and issuing refunds than the amount of the regulatory fee
> payment," the FCC said. "As our costs now exceed the regulatory fee,
> we are eliminating this regulatory fee category. The current vanity
> call sign regulatory fee is $21.40, the highest in several years.
> The FCC reported there were 11,500 "payment units" in FY 2014 and
> estimated that it would collect nearly $246,100.
>
> In its 2014 Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding the
> assessment and collection of regulatory fees for FY 2014, the FCC
> had sought comment on eliminating several smaller regulatory fee
> categories, such as those for vanity call signs and GMRS. It
> concluded in the subsequent Report and Order (R&O) last summer,
> however, that it did not have "adequate support to determine whether
> the cost of recovery and burden on small entities outweighed the
> collected revenue or whether eliminating the fee would adversely
> affect the licensing process."
>
> The FCC said it has since had an opportunity to obtain and analyze
> support concerning the collection of the regulatory fees for Amateur
> Vanity and GMRS, which the FCC said comprise, on average, more than
> 20,000 licenses that are newly obtained or renewed, every 10 and 5
> years, respectively.
>
> "The Commission often receives multiple applications for the same
> vanity call sign, but only one applicant can be issued that call
> sign," the FCC explained. "In such cases, the Commission issues
> refunds for all the remaining applicants. In addition to staff and
> computer time to process payments and issue refunds, there is an
> additional expense to issue checks for the applicants who cannot be
> refunded electronically."
>
> The Commission said that after it provides the required
> congressional notification, Amateur Radio vanity program applicants
> "will no longer be financially burdened with such payments, and the
> Commission will no longer incur these administrative costs that
> exceed the fee payments. The revenue that the Commission would
> otherwise collect from these regulatory fee categories will be
> proportionally assessed on other wireless fee categories."
>
> The FCC said it would not issue refunds to licensees who paid the
> regulatory fee prior to its official elimination.
> NNNN
> /EX