The state of Louisiana passed House Bill 653 introduced by Representative Simon and signed by the Governor May 30 that prohibits customer fines from being assessed to security companies. The provisions are under Section 1664.16 C and can be found on SIAC’s State Activity Report. We urge you to check it out.
There are many reasons we’d like you to look at and consider this legislation. One of the bigger issues we’ve addressed the past 2-3 years in our service to the security industry is the issue of local municipalities passing ordinances that charge alarm fines to the companies. That type of ordinance is akin to fining the car companies when a motorist speeds.
We have fought hard at the local level for years on this issue. It’s tremendously heartening to see a STATE taking it up and passing legislation that prevents local alarm ordinances from including provisions that would fine security companies for their customers’ false alarm. Here is the specific language to look for in the bill on page 11 highlighted in yellow on SIAC’s State Activity Report:
“… Security firms and its employees and security monitoring firms shall not be subject to or liable for civil penalties and fines assessed or imposed by a municipality or parish for false alarms.”
Pretty simple. If you live in a state where this is a concern, take this language to your state legislator and see if you can work something out along similar lines. Change does not occur in a vacuum. To fix problems, action must be taken. In the case of fining security companies, SIAC is on the forefront of fighting to eliminate those provisions in local laws.
This legislation is an extremely important step forward for our industry. Please share this message with others so the information gains a wider audience. With your help, we can get ahead of this issue on a statewide level.