Designated Oregon Broadcasters Now “First Informers”
Radio World
by Leslie Stimson
“[I]ndividuals acting under authority of broadcasters” could now be
considered first informers in Oregon.
That’s part of a bill signed into law by Oregon Governor Kate Brown last
week.
Passed by the Oregon state legislature, HB 2210 allows designated
broadcasters to enter areas during an emergency to maintain “essential
broadcast equipment.”
The Oregon Association of Broadcasters, in collaboration with the Oregon
Office of Emergency Management, is tasked with developing a procedure to
credential such first informers. That may lead to the development of a
training program for broadcasters who want to be qualified as first
informers; one of the goals would be to help train broadcasters to get
their job done while staying out of the way of those performing
emergency services, according to the bill.
The measure defines a broadcaster as someone who holds an FCC license,
and maintaining “essential broadcast equipment” includes repairing or
resupplying transmitters, generators or other essential gear at the
station or transmitter site. Broadcasters designated as first informers
can travel on roads in the designated emergency areas and have access to
fuel, water, food, supplies or equipment needed to produce a broadcast
or transmit a signal.
None of the broadcast supplies can be seized by an emergency service
agency, according to the text.
HB 2210 is the 150th bill Brown has signed this year, out of 190+ so far.
- See more at:
http://www.radioworld.com/article/designated-oregon-broadcasters-now-%E2%80%9Cfirst-responders%E2%80%9D/276158%20#sthash.uFgS5rk8.dpuf
by Leslie Stimson
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Duane Whittingham - N9SSN
(ARES/RACES, EmComm, Skywarn & Red Cross)
(Melrose Park Public Safety & Homeland Security)
http://www.mpdes.org
http://www.radiodude.info
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