State Legislative Security Trends of 2015

Successful security dealers and integrators work vigorously to anticipate future customer needs. While customer requirements may vary, it is certain that the high volume of state legislative activity presents short and long-term sales opportunities for savvy security businesses who regularly monitor such proposals. Conversely, some recent State policymaking trends can just as easily thwart business opportunities if crafted hastily despite the best of intention by policymakers.

Let’s consider the following most common examples in 2015 that underscore how State legislation may threaten or accelerate growth opportunities and influence the profitability of security businesses.

OPPORTUNITY: Carbon Monoxide Detectors and Alarms

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has been one of the leading life safety industry organizations that has done a stellar job of promoting the adoption of state legislation that would drive the adoption of carbon monoxide detectors and alarms in residential communities.

Through the efforts of NEMA and like-minded organizations including the Electronic Security Association and the Security Industry Association, there continues to be widespread adoption of legislation mandating the use of such life-saving devices in both residential and commercial markets. Earlier this year, the Maine legislature overrode the Governor’s veto of legislation to expand Maine’s requirements for placement of carbon monoxide detectors. This legislation also added existing single-family dwellings, hotels, motels, inns, bed and breakfasts, certain other lodging places, fraternity houses, sorority houses, dormitories, and child care facilities to the list of structures required to install carbon monoxide detectors.

OPPORTUNITY: Body-Worn Cameras

Few new areas of security technology received as much government attention this year as the proliferation of body-worn camera (BWC) bills were introduced in numerous state legislatures. This notable trend has led the Security Industry Association to create a Body-Worn Camera Working Group intended to advise government officials when they are developing policies to govern the use of these devices.

While the offering of body-worn cameras by integrators with traditional security products has not yet found widespread acceptance, these businesses should pay closer attention to how this fast-moving emerging market is being defined by local policymakers across the country and the funding that is being allocated to support the acquisition of BWCs.

The themes of the myriad of BWC-proposals vary, but typically these bills establish policies to authorize and implement the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement agencies. In other cases, direct funding is provided for BWC programs while some proposals would require the development of policies to address privacy concerns raised with the use of BWCs. For example, in 2015, Florida adopted legislation that ensures that recordings taken from inside a private residence or healthcare facilities are treated confidentially.

In a bolder and broader approach, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed legislation that established a Body-Worn Camera Fund for purposes of assisting state and local law enforcement agencies on the initial purchase, maintenance, and replacement of body-worn cameras.

OPPORTUNITY: Data Centers

The agenda for any state Governor typically includes a larger number of initiatives intended to attract out-of-state businesses and their facilities and employees into a new region. This economic development mission by a state’s chief executive can also drive new market opportunities for security integrators and dealers seeking to provide physical security protection for planned data centers.

In 2012, Nebraska adopted legislation intended to meet the twin goals of accelerating economic development and security market enhancements. The law provided considerable tax relief for businesses that would build large-scale data centers in Nebraska that cost in excess of $200 million.

More recently, in September, the “Data Center Infrastructure Act” adopted in North Carolina offered sales and property tax exemptions for businesses that invest at least $75 million in a data center facility.

In the past weeks, it was reported that the Michigan legislature would consider a similar legislative package of tax relief for a business to build the largest data center in the eastern half of the United States in Grand Rapids. In 2015, similar proposals were passed in Montana, Missouri and Oregon, but failed to pass in Colorado, Georgia, Iowa and Indiana.

The trend in legislation intended to spur data center construction will continue to increase in 2016 and these proposals could provide new opportunities for engaged security integrators with expertise in this market.

OPPORTUNITY: School Security

Protecting K-12 schools remains a key strategic market for many security integrators and dealers and protecting the children, staff, and classroom visitors remains a top priority for countless legislators in lieu of senseless, tragic school shootings around the nation.

 Among the new laws that may have the most impact on the use of life safety and security technologies by schools includes a requirement for the Illinois School Security Standards Task Force to recommend minimum standards to enhance school security.

In Texas, a recently enacted measure would require school districts and charter schools, at the request of a parent, board trustee or staff member, to provide video monitoring and other equipment in self-contained classrooms or other special education settings.

THREAT: License Plate Readers

Integrators who include License Plate Reader systems within their offerings should be aware of the efforts of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and organizations seeking to limit the use of LPRs by law enforcement agencies and commercial establishments, among others. In its July 2013 report, entitled “You Are Being Tracked,” the ACLU stated the following about LPR technology:

“A little noticed surveillance technology, designed to track the movements of every passing driver, is fast proliferating on America’s streets. As a result, enormous databases of innocent motorists’ location information are growing rapidly. This information is retained for years or even indefinitely, with few or no restrictions to protect privacy rights.”

The report was based on activities of the ACLU to contact nearly 600 public agencies in nearly 40 states for information about policies governing the use of LPRs and associated data retention.

Similar to the ongoing debate over privacy and biometrics and video, policymakers are sensitive to consumer concerns about the storage of personal identifying information and their constituents’ views certainly influence the development of government policies governing the use of LPR technology as evidenced by the defeat of LPR legislation recently debated in Louisiana. Governor Bobby Jindal vetoed legislation that would have created a pilot program to implement use of license plate readers by law enforcement agencies.

Serious debate over government-prescribed restrictions on LPR technology extended into public policy circles within Minnesota, Texas, California, Florida, Indiana and Montana.

In much more limited activity this year, policymakers have promoted the use of LPR through the adoption of legislation in Arkansas that allows the Arkansas Highway Police Division of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department to use the automatic license plate reader system. The expected interest in regulating LPR technology during legislative sessions in 2016 is expected to increase and may limit the availability of this technology to customers in certain jurisdictions.

2016 and Beyond

State legislative activity in 2016 should pave a path for additional investments in innovative security solutions and therefore provide additional opportunities for security integrators and dealers; however, to leverage state legislation as a catalyst for growth will require this industry to share its expertise with decision-makers more frequently.

Dealers and integrators must become more aware of developing state legislative requirements to help educate their customers, and to effectively collaborate with public interest organizations when appropriate to strike the right balance between privacy and security in the minds of consumers. When this mission is fulfilled, your customers and the entire industry will benefit.

Don Erickson is CEO of the Security Industry Association (SIA). To request more info about SIA, visit www.securityinfowatch.com/10215002.