Security Systems News

March 2011

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28 MONITORING www.securitysystemsnews.com MARCH 2011 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS Will state license debate lead to national push? Continued from page 1 legislation.” Since Security Systems News initially broke the story, many have begun voic- ing their concerns, claiming the legislation, if passed into law, could make monitoring in the state of New York prohibitively expensive. “What you have now is a com- mittee that believes in what it’s created and thinks it’s a good thing for companies in New York and for the industry. The question is, is it necessary?” said Russ MacDonnell, CEO of Rapid Response, which is based in Syracuse, N.Y. “The central station industry has evolved enormously over the last 25 years … We already do everything that’s in there times two … When you start piling up these licenses state-by-state, it’s incredibly burdensome to companies that try and operate between states.” Several people, including MacDonnell, believe the CSAA, which has so far remained neutral, needed to take a position. CSAA president Ed Bonifas agrees state licensing is an issue, but maintains CSAA must allow the issue to play out. “The issue of conflicting state licensing Russ MacDonnell impossible,” Bonifas said. “My argument is that the problem can’t be solved in New York. It may make sense not to perpetrate the problem in New York, but that’s one of 50 states.” Mace CSSS director of central station operations Morgan Hertel conducted a poll to see who was in favor of and who opposed to the legislation. Hertel told Security Systems News that of 59 responses, 86.9 percent are opposed to Article 6-E. However, an almost equal number, 84.9 percent, are in favor of federal licensing. Bonifas said to battle the problem in any particular state would waste resources and keep the problem on a state-by-state basis when the real solution, he feels, is to be found in federal regulation. requirements is a big issue. I don’t want to minimize that … It’s a serious problem that makes national monitoring almost “When legitimate practitioners in a busi- ness—like the central station monitoring business—have a difference of opinion, probably the association needs to watch and not lead,” Bonifas said. “That being said, the broader issue is a national bill, the idea for which [former Vector president] John Murphy put forward years ago. He proposed an idea for federal legislation creating an alarm-monitoring standard by which states could evaluate us. And if you met that standard you would be allowed to monitor in 50 states.” Bonifas encouraged interested parties to get involved in the CSAA’s Long Range Planning Committee meeting to try and build momentum for a national licens- ing initiative through the Alarm Industry Communications Committee. The Long Range Planning Committee Meeting took place in Key West, Fla. Jan. 27-29. Lou Fiore, past CSAA president and chairman of the AICC said Article 6-E was discussed at that meeting and agreed the problem should be tackled on a national level. “We will be debating whether to revive a version of what we once called ‘Licensing Reciprocity.’ In my view, we would like to cease calling this effort ‘reciprocity’ because there is really nothing ‘reciprocal’ about what we want,” Fiore said. “We are not looking at any two-way arrangement. Rather it’s national ‘recognition.’” Doyle Security president John Doyle is also opposed to Article 6-E, and has been voicing his opinion to the Article 6-E review committee since October of last year, he said. “This legislation is a bad idea because there is no public need for this law whatsoever. The only purpose for licensing laws is to provide protection for consumers. There is no evidence of any kind that consumers are being harmed by central stations,” Doyle told Security Systems News. “Licensing laws add bureaucracy and cost to society. In this case, the proposed law would add cost to central station alarm companies, which would have to be passed on to customers with no return.” Doyle Security is a full-service security compa ny that has been providing commercial, residential and medical alarm systems, CCTV, access control and safe and lock services and products in New York since 1919. Doyle owns and operates its own Five-Diamond certified, UL-listed central station, Doyle Emergency Response Center. At press time, the NYBFAA was preparing to hear arguments pro- and con- at its Feb. 10 board of directors meeting. Eller said that just prior to the Feb. 3 deadline for submission of written comments on Article 6-E there were 20 RSVPs to attend. He also said a dozen concerned security industry members had voiced their opinion in writing. “The best thing that has come John Doyle from this experience is the fact that it got everyone talking about what was best for the industry,” Eller said. “And how everyone could work together proactively to benefit the consumer, pub- lic safety and the dealers and monitoring companies.” SSN SECURITY EXECUTIVE FORUM Sponsored By: TUESDAY, APRIL 05, 2011 Master Security Program: Security Technology DOES NOT EQUAL Security 8:30AM - 10:00AM Priority Response: More Arrests, Efficiency, Safety 10:15AM - 11:15AM Dataveillance: Increasing Enterprise Video Productivity through Datamining & Video Correlation 11:30AM - 12:30PM Effective, Affordable and Innovative Security Training 1:30PM - 2:30PM Spill-Over Threat: Workplace Violence 2:45PM - 4:45PM

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