Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 73 - PROFESSIONS AND VOCATIONS (§§ 73-1-1 — 73-79-1) › Chapter 69 - MISSISSIPPI ELECTRONIC PROTECTION LICENSING ACT (§§ 73-69-1 — 73-69-35) › Section 73-69-7 - Administration and enforcement of chapter; powers and duties of State Fire Marshall; application procedure and qualifications for Class A license

(1)
The State Fire Marshal shall administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter and shall have the authority to promulgate and adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary for such proper administration and enforcement. The Electronic Protection Advisory Licensing Board created in Section
73-69-21
shall advise the State Fire Marshal with respect to the rules and regulations of the provisions of this chapter. The State Fire Marshal shall have the authority to approve written training programs or acceptable equivalents for meeting the training requirements of this licensing law. The State Fire Marshal may also accept, as such an equivalent, licensure of a company or person by a jurisdiction outside this state, which has standards and requirements of practice which substantially conform to the provisions of this chapter. The State Fire Marshal shall also establish continuing education requirements.
(2)
Application for a Class A license. In order to engage in alarm contracting, a company shall apply for and obtain a Class A license for each operating location doing business in the state. A Class A license shall authorize a company to engage in any type of alarm contracting. An applicant for a Class A license shall submit the following to the State Fire Marshal:
(a)
Documentation that the company is an entity duly authorized to conduct business within this state.
(b)
Documentation that the company holds a general liability and errors and omissions insurance policy, or a surety bond, in an amount not less than Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00).
(c)
Documentation that the company carries a current and valid workers' compensation insurance policy as required by state law.
(d)
The name of the person who will serve as the designated agent of the company.
(e)
For a company applying for a Class A license, evidence that the company has at least one (1) employee who holds a Class B license at each of its operating locations.
(f)
A statement that no officer or principal has been convicted of a felony, has received a first-time offender pardon for a felony, or has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a felony charge.
(g)
The application fee authorized by this chapter.
(h)
Documentation that the company is located within the physical boundaries of the state.
(i)
Beginning on July 1, 2014, in order to assist the Office of the State Fire Marshal in determining an applicant's suitability for a license under this chapter, a Class A applicant, upon request from the State Fire Marshal, shall submit a set of fingerprints for all officers and principals with the submission of an application for license or at such time as deemed necessary by the State Fire Marshal. The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall forward the fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of conducting a criminal history record check. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, the fingerprints shall be forwarded by the Department of Public Safety to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check. Fees related to the criminal history record check shall be paid by the applicant to the State Fire Marshal and the monies from such fees shall be deposited in the special fund in the State Treasury designated as the Electronic Protection Licensing Fund.
(j)
The name of each company providing monitoring services.
(3)
If the action by the State Fire Marshal is to nonrenew or to deny an application for license, the State Fire Marshal shall notify the applicant or licensee and advise, in writing, the applicant or licensee of the reason for the denial or nonrenewal of the applicant's or licensee's license. The applicant or licensee may make written demand upon the State Fire Marshal within ten (10) days for a hearing before the State Fire Marshal to determine the reasonableness of the State Fire Marshal's action. The hearing shall be held within thirty (30) days.
Laws, 2006, ch. 528, § 4, eff. 7/1/2006.
Amended by Laws, 2014, ch. 525, SB 2697, 4, eff. 7/1/2014.