I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1939 

To direct the Attorney General to establish a system of background checks 

for employers and employees of the electronic life safety and security 

system installation and monitoring industry, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2009 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To direct the Attorney General to establish a system of 

background checks for employers and employees of the 

electronic life safety and security system installation and 

monitoring industry, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Life Safety 

5 and Security Systems Federal Background Check Act of 

6 2009’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds— 


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1 (1) the electronic life safety and security sys2 tems industry performs critical security installation 

3 and protection for much of the infrastructure in the 

4 United States and provides commercial buildings, 

5 public agencies and residences with alarm and secu6 rity systems that are an important part of homeland 

7 security and anti-crime and terrorist prevention; 

8 (2) these systems include central monitoring 

9 stations and individual employer-owned companies 

10 and other private sector businesses that install sys11 tems in these structures; 

12 (3) some States do not provide for any licencing 

13 or regulation requirement that includes a State or 

14 Federal background check on employers and employ15 ees of these companies; 

16 (4) many employers and their employees in the 

17 industry travel across State lines to install their sys18 tems and may or may not be required to undergo 

19 Federal background checks as a condition of employ20 ment and in some cases there may be background 

21 check requirements at the State level or duplicated 

22 background checks at the county or city levels; and 

23 (5) many employers and their employees in the 

24 industry have access to public and private structures 


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1 and should undergo a Federal background check to 

2 protect lives and property. 

3 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF BACKGROUND CHECK. 

4 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a 

6 method to permit employers in the electronic life safety 

7 and security systems installation and monitoring industry 

8 to access the information contained in appropriate records 

9 acquired under section 534 of title 28, United States 

10 Code, to provide the employers with any resulting relevant 

11 criminal history record information in accordance with the 

12 following goals and standards: 

13 (1) Employers should be able to discover if em14 ployees or prospective employees have been convicted 

15 of a felony or of an offense involving dishonesty or 

16 false statement or the use of force against the per17 son of another within the 10 years prior to the 

18 check. 

19 (2) Employers should be able to obtain access 

20 to Federal criminal history record information by 

21 the Attorney General designating, the National Bur22 glar and Fire Alarm Association, as the channeling 

23 organization representing the electronic life safety 

24 and security systems industry. 


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1 (3) The access provided under this Act should 

2 not duplicate access by an employer regarding an 

3 employee working only within one State where the 

4 State licensing and regulation of that employee al5 ready requires a Federal background check. 

6 (4) Each employee for whom a background 

7 check is provided under this Act should be issued a 

8 Federal Background Check Completion identification 

9 card by the Department of Justice for an appro10 priate period of time up to two years, indicating that 

11 the check was made with no adverse results. During 

12 that period of time, an employer or prospective em13 ployer may rely on this card instead of seeking a 

14 new Federal background check. 

15 (5) The Federal Background Check Completion 

16 ID card should receive reciprocity from States, in17 cluding those without a requirement for a Federal 

18 background check for this industry or without any 

19 requirement for background checks for this industry. 

20 (6) The Attorney General may set reasonable 

21 fees to be charged in connection with the method for 

22 background checks authorized under this Act. 

23 (7) The Attorney General, in establishing the 

24 method for background checks, shall give due conVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:11 Apr 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1939.IH H1939

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1 sideration to privacy protections and employee 

2 rights. 

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITION. 

4 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘electronic life safety 

5 and security systems industry’’ means businesses that pro6 vide installation and central monitoring of fire and burglar 

7 alarm systems to public or private entities including but 

8 not limited to fire alarms, burglar alarms, closed-circuit 

9 TV, biometric systems, access control systems and other 

10 crime prevention systems. 

Æ 


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