Please see the report in the story below, marked in red, regarding language modifying tower marking requirements that has been inserted in the FAA reauthorization bill. In short, opponents of that effort are attempting to modify the language at least with respect to communication towers. TAAA strongly supports NAAA's efforts to protect tower marking requirements.

 

Legislation that only requires inclusion of the location of communication towers in a data base has been in place in Texas for more than a decade, and has been entirely ineffective due to lack of an enforcement mechanism. Tower marking for METs on the other hand is enforced in Texas through criminal law mechanisms and has resulted in compliance for the most part.

Here's the NAAA story:

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a five-year FAA reauthorization bill by a vote of 393-13 on April 27. A five-year reauthorization would provide long-term funding stability for the FAA, compared to the short-term 12 and six-month extensions that have been passed in recent years. The Senate hopes to pass its reauthorization bill soon so a final bill can be signed by the president before the August recess. The current FAA extension expires Sept. 30.  .....

 

The bill contains language that would make changes to the marking of towers in rural areas between 50 and 200 vertical feet and an above-ground base up to 10 feet feet in diameter. In 2016 NAAA was successful in urging Congress to enact law requiring the marking and logging of such towers into a database. The bill that passed the House last week would allow communication towers that meet the 2016 requirements to be marked or placed into a database but they would not be required to do both. MET towers would still be required to be both marked and put in a database. NAAA is working to amend the bill either in the Senate or if and when it goes to conference to make sure future towers, whether communications or METs, must be both marked and logged into a database, but the telecommunications industry is fighting this approach. 

Read the full story at NAAA:

House Passes Five-Year FAA Reauthorization Bill with Changes to Tower Marking.