Maybe you missed it, but ARRL board touched on the item. It was posted on the arrl.org web site but deleted within days. The Board proposal, reported below in a newsletter, showed the board had interest in helping elderly and young folks who are members.
Maybe you missed this tweet ...
So ... Did you? One elected representative replied that they are working the problem. It's going to take some budget wrangling.
So .. the noise on social media, when the news broke that the FCC was going to raise your fees, some said "I'm done" to "No big deal" but when it comes time to do something about it, I see folks who don't care.
ARRL BOARD CONSIDERS PLAN TO COVER NEW $35 FCC FEE FOR SOME YOUNG
APPLICANTS
At its Annual Meeting in January, the ARRL Board of Directors
considered a motion to offer a new service that would pay the new but
not-yet-implemented $35 FCC application fee for a limited number of new
radio amateurs younger than age 18 who, at the time of testing,
belonged to an ARRL-affiliated 501(c)(3) charitable organization and
passed their tests through an ARRL VEC-sponsored exam session. The
proposal called for reducing the VEC fee for these candidates to $5.
The initial proposal came from ARRL Southeastern Division Director
Mickey Baker, N4MB. Other Board members offered subsidiary motions.
Supporters said the purpose behind the motion was to ameliorate the
potential financial hardship the pending FCC application fee posed on
certain minors applying for their first license, and to encourage new
youth membership.
Consideration of the motion, which was subject to considerable
discussion, was deferred to an ad hoc committee composed of the members
of the Administration & Finance Committee, two Members of the Programs
& Services Committee, and ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA (or his
designated representative). The Board directed the panel to review and
more fully develop the proposal and report back to the Board by the end
of March with a recommendation as to whether such a program should be
adopted and, if adopted, how it should be implemented.
Supporters expressed the belief that recruitment and training of young
radio amateurs "is a necessary and proper mission of the ARRL" and that
subsidizing the $35 fee "will reduce the number of new amateurs that
otherwise would be lost from these groups."
In December, the FCC agreed with ARRL and other commenters that the
initially proposed $50 fee for certain amateur radio applications was
"too high to account for the minimal staff involvement in these
applications." In a Report and Order (R&O
<https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-184A1.pdf>), the FCC
scaled the fee back to $35 for a new license application, a special
temporary authority (STA) request, a rule waiver request, a license
renewal application, and a vanity call sign application. All fees are
per application. There will be no fee for administrative updates, such
as a change of mailing or email address. Read an expanded version
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-board-considers-plan-to-cover-new-35-fcc-fee-for-some-young-applicants>.
ARRL BOARD CONSIDERS PLAN TO COVER NEW $35 FCC FEE FOR SOME YOUNG
APPLICANTS
At its Annual Meeting in January, the ARRL Board of Directors
considered a motion to offer a new service that would pay the new but
not-yet-implemented $35 FCC application fee for a limited number of new
radio amateurs younger than age 18 who, at the time of testing,
belonged to an ARRL-affiliated 501(c)(3) charitable organization and
passed their tests through an ARRL VEC-sponsored exam session. The
proposal called for reducing the VEC fee for these candidates to $5.
The initial proposal came from ARRL Southeastern Division Director
Mickey Baker, N4MB. Other Board members offered subsidiary motions.
Supporters said the purpose behind the motion was to ameliorate the
potential financial hardship the pending FCC application fee posed on
certain minors applying for their first license, and to encourage new
youth membership.
Consideration of the motion, which was subject to considerable
discussion, was deferred to an ad hoc committee composed of the members
of the Administration & Finance Committee, two Members of the Programs
& Services Committee, and ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA (or his
designated representative). The Board directed the panel to review and
more fully develop the proposal and report back to the Board by the end
of March with a recommendation as to whether such a program should be
adopted and, if adopted, how it should be implemented.
Supporters expressed the belief that recruitment and training of young
radio amateurs "is a necessary and proper mission of the ARRL" and that
subsidizing the $35 fee "will reduce the number of new amateurs that
otherwise would be lost from these groups."
In December, the FCC agreed with ARRL and other commenters that the
initially proposed $50 fee for certain amateur radio applications was
"too high to account for the minimal staff involvement in these
applications." In a Report and Order (R&O
<https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-184A1.pdf>), the FCC
scaled the fee back to $35 for a new license application, a special
temporary authority (STA) request, a rule waiver request, a license
renewal application, and a vanity call sign application. All fees are
per application. There will be no fee for administrative updates, such
as a change of mailing or email address. Read an expanded version
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-board-considers-plan-to-cover-new-35-fcc-fee-for-some-young-applicants>.
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