Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Resolutions
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday, June 2,
2009, to actively seek and support federal legislation to repeal portions of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 that limit the authority of state and local
governments to regulate cell towers and related wireless facilities on the basis
of their health and environmental effects.
Two related motions were passed by the board. The motion by Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky
and Michael D. Antonovich states, "There is an ongoing debate within the
scientific community and among governing bodies throughout the world regarding how
thoroughly the long-term health effects of low-frequency electromagnetic and radio-frequency
emissions are understood. In particular, questions have been raised regarding how
well the existing regulations established by the Federal Communications Commission
protect more vulnerable populations such as school-aged children, and how well they
protect against the cumulative effect of radio-frequency emissions on people who
live or work in close proximity to multiple cellular facilities."
The motion by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas asks for legislation that "would
direct the Federal Communications Commission to pursue a comprehensive global analysis
of best practices and scientific evidence in order to update their existing standards
and to adequately measure the health impacts of telecommunications towers."
Read the Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors Resolutions
Los Angeles is the first major local government to directly take on the federal
preemption of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. As part of its efforts on this
issue, the Board of Supervisors will also be filing comments consistent with its
motions with the FCC with regard to National Broadband Policy.