Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 November 4, 2009 DA 09-2377 Matt May Assistant Director Johnson County Emergency Management and Homeland Security 111 S. Cherry St., Suite 100 Olathe, KS 66061 Dear Mr. May: This letter grants your request, dated November 2, 2009, on behalf of the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee of the Kansas City region, for a waiver to permit certain Amateur Radio Service licensees who are employees of local government entities to transmit communications on behalf of their employers during an upcoming government emergency drill. In your request, you state that the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee of the Kansas City region will be holding an exercise on November 7, 2009. You state that this is exercise will test the communications capabilities of emergency management officials in the event of a multi-tornado touchdown in the region. The drill will be held at a variety of sites throughout the nine-county Kansas City metropolitan area. Section 97.113(a)(3) of the Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 97.113(a)(3), prohibits amateur licensees from transmitting communications in which they have a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer. You therefore request a waiver of this rule to permit the following amateur licensees, who are employees of local government entities, to transmit communications on behalf of their employer in connection with the exercise: Name Call Sign Employer Edwin Rust KD0BKH Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Betty Amos KD0CDP Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Leslie Still KD0CEG Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Joel Thornton KD0GSP Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Alan Hancock W0SED Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Merle McCullough N0VDR Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Michael Baughman KC0VVP Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Larry Eker WA0YQM Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Bob Evans KC0VVQ Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Cleburne Webb KC0VVT Wyandotte County, Kansas, Emergency Management Matt May KC4WCG Johnson County, Kansas, Emergency Management Michael O’Neal KC0YSO Platte County, Missouri, Sherriff’s Office Phillip Campbell KC0ZNI Miami County, Kansas, Sherriff’s Office Stan Swaggart KC0ZLC Cass County, Missouri, Emergency Management Frank Goetzfridt KB0HMR Independence, Missouri, Fire Department Mark Widner KC0UMZ Independence, Missouri, Fire Department Matt May Page 2 Section 1.3 of the Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.3, provides that the Commission may waive its rules if good cause for waiver is shown. We conclude that grant of the waiver request is appropriate under the circumstances presented. The public interest in facilitating the November 7 public safety exercise by permitting the specified amateur licensees to participate warrants this limited waiver of Section 97.113(a)(3). This waiver grant permits transmission of communications by the above-listed amateur employees on behalf of their employer during the November 7, 2009, exercise, and immediately prior to the exercise for the purpose of operational testing of equipment. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the waiver request of the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee of the Kansas City region, dated November 2, 2009, IS GRANTED. This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.131 and 0.331 of the Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.131, 0.331. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Scot Stone Deputy Chief, Mobility Division Wireless Telecommunications Bureau