MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
As soon as you can please call the Committee members and share this page and the Keep Cell Antennas Away newsletter with friends and neighbors in California.
Speak up on July 7th & 8th
The worst and 2nd worst telecom bill in California, SB 556 and AB 537, are in their final policy committees. Please for your sake and everybody’s health do three things:
1. If you live in their districts, call and send email messages to committee members and tell them you oppose these bills. (They claim no constituents are opposed to these bills.) See the talking points on SB 556 and AB 537 and my page about the digital divide. A list of Committee members and their phone numbers is below.
2. Call in to the two committee hearings – see below.
3. Email the Committee members. A sample email and email addresses are below in this message.
Wednesday, JULY 7th meeting
SB 556 (Dodd – which authorizes telecom to place cell antennas on city street light poles and overrides all conflicting local zoning codes) will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Communications and Conveyance.
2) Please plan to call in to the committee hearing on July 7 at 1:30 pm. Get call-in information from committee web page by clicking on “show details.”
SB 556 is item 3 on the agenda. Info to call in and express your opposition will be posted on or by July 7 at committee link above.
The Chair will give instructions that callers’ comments are supposed to be ONLY name, affiliation and position but each Chairperson has a different way of interpreting and applying that, which is where we get the opportunity to say something meaningful. You can follow the chair’s instructions exactly OR you can take this opportunity to say something meaningful, something that the Committee ought to know about the bill and cell antenna policy. What is the name of your organization? It’s up to you. You decide. On a given day your organization name can be something directly related to the bill. The video on this page shows how Californians opposed to the proliferation of cell antennas used this opportunity during an earlier hearing on AB 537.
Thursday, JULY 8th meeting
AB 537 (Quirk – shorten approval times so local governments can’t meet them and then consider the application “deemed approved”) is assigned to Senate Governance and Finance Committee. The committee will meet upon adjournment of Senate Session. It could be as early as 11 a.m., listen to the Senate session. When it adjourns, call in to 1-888-808-6929 and use Access Code 7362833. (Check the committee link if to see if there are any changes.)
This is a 5 member committee if we can get 3 members to vote No or to “not vote” we can kill this bill. Senator Mike McGuire, the Chair has voted against telecom bills this year and in 2017 and he’s a good man.
SIMPLEST CALL SCRIPT FOR CONSTITUENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
“Hi, my name is ___(name)___ and I’m a constituent. I live in __(city, zip code)__ and I’m calling to urge my Assembly Member to vote NO on SB-556 and SB-378 when they come up for a vote this Wednesday in the Committee on Communications and Conveyance. Thank you.”
SIMPLEST CALL SCRIPT FOR NON-CONSTITUENTS
“Hi, my name is ___(name)___ and I’m calling Assembly Member ___ (name)___ in his/her capacity as a member of the Committee on Communications and Conveyance. I’m urging a NO vote on SB-556 and SB-378 this coming Wednesday when that bill comes up for a vote in that committee. Thank you.”
LONGER CALL SCRIPT FOR CONSTITUENTS
“Hi, my name is ___(name)___ and I’m a constituent. I live in __(city, zip code)__ and I’m calling to ask my Assembly Member to vote NO on SB-556 and SB-378 when they come up for a vote this Wednesday in the Committee on Communications and Conveyance.
SB-556 will NOT bridge the digital divide because it does nothing to make broadband available to all, and it does nothing to prevent Telecom charging higher and higher rates for internet access. It will put Telecom in charge of placement of small cells and wireless infrastructure, and will give them cheap access to every light pole and signal pole — overriding local regulations on aesthetics, fire prevention, safety, setbacks, zoning, and limits on height, size, and power output. Telecom need to be regulated, and this bill does the opposite. Municipalities can ensure affordable and even subsidized internet access via WIRED broadband as a public utility. The best way to close the digital divide is to keep local zoning authority over the placement of cell antennas as it is today and allow and encourage California cities and counties to offer WIRED municipally-operated Broadband to and into buildings: FASTER, SAFER, ENERGY EFFICIENT, and CYBER-SECURE. If SB-556 passes, broadband for all won’t happen. Please vote NO on SB-556. Thank you.”
LONGER CALL SCRIPT FOR NON-CONSTITUENTS
“Hi, my name is ___(name)___ and I’m calling Assembly Member ___ (name)___ in his/her capacity as a member of the Committee on Communications and Conveyance. I’m urging a NO vote on SB-556 and SB-378 this coming Wednesday when those bills come up for a vote in that committee.
SB-556 will NOT bridge the digital divide because it does nothing to make broadband available to all, and it does nothing to prevent Telecom charging higher and higher rates for internet access. It will put Telecom in charge of placement of small cells and wireless infrastructure, and will give them cheap access to every light pole and signal pole — overriding local regulations on aesthetics, fire prevention, safety, setbacks, zoning, and limits on height, size, and power output. Telecom need to be regulated, and this bill does the opposite. Municipalities can ensure affordable and even subsidized internet access via WIRED broadband as a public utility. The best way to close the digital divide is to keep local zoning authority over the placement of cell antennas as it is today and allow and encourage California cities and counties to offer WIRED municipally-operated Broadband to and into buildings: FASTER, SAFER, ENERGY EFFICIENT, and CYBER-SECURE. If SB-556 passes, broadband for all won’t happen. Please vote NO on SB-556. Thank you.”
California State Assembly Committee on
Communications and Conveyance
Miguel Santiago
(Chair):
916-319-2053
Jim Patterson
(Vice Chair):
916-319-2023
Tasha Boerner Horvath:
916-319-2076
Isaac G. Bryan:
916-319-2054
Sabrina Cervantes:
916-319-2060
Laurie Davies:
916-319-2073
Eduardo Garcia:
916-319-2056
Chris Holden:
916-319-2041
Evan Low
916-319-2028
Sharon Quirk-Silva
916-319-2065
Freddie Rodriguez
916-319-2052
Suzette Martinez Valladares
916-319-2038
Akilah Weber
916-319-2079
Email the Committee members.
Sample Email
Email Subject Line: Urgent: Read Before Voting on SB-556
To Committee Chair Santiago and Members of the Assembly Committee on Communications and Conveyance,
It is urgent that you vote NO on SB-556 and on any legislation that restricts local control over the placement of cell antennas and wireless infrastructure. Local control must be maintained.
[Say briefly why this issue is meaningful to you, or something about your family or occupation.]
The State must not disregard the thousands of scientific studies showing significant adverse health effects from long term exposure to cell antenna radiation (electromagnetic fields or EMF) in its haste to bring everybody high speed internet.
SB-556 will NOT bridge the digital divide because it does nothing to make broadband available to all, and it does nothing to prevent telecom from charging higher and higher rates for internet access. It will largely put elecom in charge of placement of small cells and wireless infrastructure, and will give them cheap access to every light pole and signal pole — overriding local regulations on aesthetics, fire prevention, safety, setbacks, zoning, and limits on height, size, and power output.
Telecom needs to be regulated as public utilities, so that they would be required by state law to provide internet service at fair and reasonable rates. This bill does the opposite. Municipalities can ensure affordable and even subsidized internet access via WIRED broadband as an income-producing public utility – if the state will facilitate that.
The “digital divide”, the disparity in high speed internet access among people of different socioeconomic groups, is primarily a financial issue. Telecom places cell antennas in neighborhoods where they know residents can afford it. In poor neighborhoods many people can’t afford an internet service plan, let alone a computer. Kids can’t do their homework on a cell phone despite the industry’s claims. And they don’t.
The best way to close the digital divide is to keep local zoning authority over placement of cell antennas as it is today and allow California cities and counties to offer WIRED municipally-operated Broadband to and into homes and work places: FASTER, SAFER, ENERGY-EFFICIENT, CYBER-SECURE, and respecting local zoning and permitting requirements.
If SB-556 passes, broadband for all will not be the result. The result will be hundreds of cell towers placed in front of our homes and on the easements of our property in California cities and suburbs, and continuing limited internet access in rural and unprofitable (lower income) areas.
Keeping local control will allow municipalities to choose what is best based on the true needs and topography of each community.
I am urging each member of the Assembly Committee on Communications and Conveyance to support local governments and protect aesthetics and health by keeping local control and voting NO on SB-556.
Thank you.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
You can copy and paste these email addresses into your email.
To:
<AssemblyMember.Santiago@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Patterson@Assembly.CA.gov>, <AssemblyMember.BoernerHorvath@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Bryan@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Cervantes@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Davies@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Garcia@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Holden@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Low@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Quirk-Silva@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Rodriguez@Assembly.CA.gov>,
<AssemblyMember.Valladares@Assembly.CA.gov>,