“FIVE FREEDOMS” – BULLETIN BOARD: Elk Grove CA Campaigns Against Telecoms Stripping Local Communities of Rights

July 5, 2021 Dear reader, It is crunch time in the Legislature.  Telecom bills are in their final committees and this is one of our last chances to stop them.  This newsletter gives you instructions on how to call and email the Committee members to oppose these bills.  Please share this newsletter with anyone in California and teach them the issue. How we got here In 2017 the Empire (that part of the Empire that is the huge billion dollar telecommunications companies and their army of lobbyists, which together control Congress, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and way too many California legislators) put all of their eggs in one basket.  That basket was SB 649, a bill that would have eliminated the local zoning authority of cities and counties over the placement of cell antennas.  The Committees in both chambers passed SB 649 with unanimous votes or 1 opposed.  The final votes in each chamber were about 55% in favor and 45% opposed or not voting (which counts as a vote opposed).  Fortunately Governor Brown vetoed SB 649 on October 15, 2017, saving all of us. The Empire looked at that and learned.  This time they have spread their eggs around in many baskets:  SB 556 (the worst bill), AB 537 (the 2nd worst) and several other bills including SB 378, SB 28, AB 955 and others all related to high speed internet.  They all make several major mistakes, including committing the state to a policy of wireless internet access, which is far worse than wired internet access.  Fiber optic cables provide wired internet access, but it requires some commitment by the city and state to make it happen. What do to right away Call and write to these Committee members, then share this newsletter with a friend. For more details, a sample email to send, email addresses, etc. see this web page on Action steps for July 7 and 8. This Wednesday, July 7th, the California State Assembly Committee on Communications and Conveyance will vote on SB-556, a bill that will accelerate the 5G build-out by severely restricting the ability of local governments to deny permits for 5G antennas. Before Wednesday, we need you to call as many members of the Committee as you can. If you are calling after normal business hours, please leave a voicemail. (That may be easier for some people.) 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 Sample SB-556 Caller Script: Hello, My name is _______ and I am a California resident. I am calling to express my strong opposition to SB-556 which will be considered by the Committee on Communications and Conveyance this coming Wednesday, July 7th. SB-556 undermines local control over the placement of wireless antennas in public rights-of-way, will cause health effects for millions of Californians, harms the aesthetics of our streets, does absolutely nothing to address the digital divide, and tips the scale in favor of giant wireless corporations over the interests of Californians. Please note my strong opposition to this bill. Thank you! The Senate Governance and Finance Committee will meet this Thursday, July 8th to decide the fate of AB-537, another telecom-sponsored 5G bill. The members of the Committee are: Mike McGuire: 916-651-4002 Jim Nielsen:  916-651-4004 Maria Elena Durazo: 916-651-4024 Robert Hertzberg: 916-651-4018 Scott Wiener: 916-651-4011 Please consider making additional calls to these offices to register your strong objections to AB 537. Learn more about the bill on this AB 537 web page. People power is YOU plus friends taking action People power is the collective voice of many residents all speaking up in favor of, or against, the same thing.  We want smart telecommunications policy and we don’t want cell antennas on city streets.  Your voice matters.  Please use it.  The life you save may be your own.  (Isn’t that clever?!) Mark Graham Keep Cell Antennas Away www.KeepCellAntennasAway.org