Title: Alarm System Registration

Summary: Provides uniform process for registration of home & business alarm systems; requires owner, lessee, or occupant, or authorized representative thereof, of property to register alarm system within 20 days after occupancy or after installation of alarm system; authorizes applicable local governmental entity to charge registration fee; specifies requirements of application form; requires owner, lessee, or occupant, or authorized representative thereof, to notify applicable local governmental agency of change in information provided in application form within 30 days; authorizes applicable local governmental entity to assess or impose fines or penalties for failure to register alarm system or for excessive false alarms; provides that fines & penalties are responsibility of owner, lessee, or occupant of property.

Full Text:
An act relating to alarm system registration; creating s. 553.7931, F.S.; defining the term "applicable local governmental entity"; providing a uniform process for the registration of home and business alarm systems under certain circumstances; requiring the owner, lessee, or occupant, or an authorized representative thereof, of a property to register an alarm system within days after occupancy or after installati on of the alarm system; authorizing the applicable local governmental entity to charge a registration fee; specifying the requirements of the application form; requiring the owner, lessee, or occupant, or an authorized representative thereof, to notify the applicable local governmental agency of a change in the information provided in the application form within days; authorizing the applicable local governmental entity to assess or impose fines or penalties for a failure to register an alarm system or for excessive false alarms; providing that fines and penalties are the responsibility of the owner, lessee, or occupant of the property; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: CS/HB 2016 Section 1. Section 553. 7931, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 553.7931 Uniform alarm registration process.-(1) As used in this section, the term "applicable local governmental entity" means the local enforcement agency or local law enforcement agency responsible for th eadministration of alarm system registration in a jurisdiction. (2) This section creates a uniform process for the registration of a home or business alarm system and applies only if such registration is required by a local ordinance, regulation, or rul e. (a) The owner, lessee, or occupant, or an authorized representative thereof, of a property must file a uniform alarm registration application with the applicable local governmental entity that requires registration within days after the installatio nor activation of an alarm system or occupancy of a property with an activated alarm system. During the intervening period, local first responders shall respond to a dispatch request. The application may be submitted electronically, or by facsimile, if si gned by the owner, lessee, or occupant, or an authorized representative thereof. (b) The applicable local governmental entity may charge the owner, lessee, or occupant an alarm registration fee of up to $25. The registration is valid for as long as the registrant occupies the property. If possession of the property is transferred, the new occupant must file an application pursuant CS/HB 2016 to paragraph (a). (c) The uniform alarm registration application must contain substantially the following information: UNIFORM ALARM REGISTRATION APPLICATION Owner, Lessee, or Occupant Name........ Owner, Lessee, or Occupant Address........ City........ State.... Zip.... Telephone Number........ E-mail Address........ Date of Occupancy........ Name of Alarm Contractor........ Telephone Number of Alarm Contractor........ Florida License Number of Alarm Contractor........ Name of Alarm Monitoring Company........ Telephone Number of Alarm Monitoring Company........ Florida License Number of Alarm Monitoring Company........ Emergency Contact Information: Name........ Address........ City........ State.... Zip.... Telephone Number........ CS/HB 2016 I certify that the foregoing information is true and accurate....(Date)......(Signature of Owner, Lessee, or Occupant, or Authorized Represent ative)... (d) The owner, lessee, or occupant, or an authorized representative thereof, shall notify the applicable local governmental entity within days of any change to the information previously submitted. A contractor, as defined in s. 553.793, mu st advise an owner, lessee, or occupant, or an authorized representative thereof, at the time of an alarm system installation that an obligation to register the system may exist. (3) Civil penalties and fines assessed or imposed by the applicable local governmental entity for a failure to register an alarm system as required under subsection (1) or for excessive false alarms shall be the responsibility of the owner, lessee, or occupant of the property. A local ordinance, regulation, or rule may not impose a civil penalty or fine against an alarm contractor or alarm monitoring company for excessive false alarms. Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2016.