WASHINGTON – Several alarm industry associations are uniting behind a drive for Congress to create federal licensing standards for alarm monitoring companies.
The Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC), made up of members from several industry associations, says it will “vigorously pursue” through its lobbyist the Alarm Monitoring Licensing Standards and Reciprocity Act of 2004.
The act would establish a minimum federal licensing standard for alarm monitoring organizations. Currently, each state has different standards, making it difficult for monitoring companies that cross state lines.
“Clearly, the time has come for the monitoring industry to pursue this issue at the federal level,” says Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) Executive Vice President Steve Doyle. “This issue has been more than a financial burden on monitoring companies, it has been a tremendous physical burden as they have to send employees to various states for fingerprinting … in this day and age, that is unacceptable.”
The AICC consists of representatives from the CSAA, Security Industry Association (SIA) and Security Network of America (SNA) as well as members from Ademco and Vector Security. The National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) is also rallying behind the bill after reviewing it and has suggested it be incorporated into one of the pending Homeland Security bills pending before Congress.
