To amend chapter 650, RSMo, by adding fourteen new section relating to the regulation of security alarm systems, with penalty provisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI,

AS FOLLOWS:

Section A. Chapter 650, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto fourteen new sections to be known as sections 650.325, 650.327, 650.329, 650.330, 650.332, 650.334, 650.337, 650.339, 650.341, 650.343, 650.345, 650.347, 650.349 and 650.350, to read as follows:

650.325. As used in sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following words and phrases mean:

(1) "Alarm agent", any individual employed within this state by an alarm business whose duties include altering, installing, maintaining, moving, repairing, replacing, selling, servicing or responding to any alarm or security system;

(2) "Alarm business manager", an individual who is in active control, management and direction of an alarm business and who has been registered as an alarm business manager pursuant to the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act;

(3) "Alarm business", any business that sells, rents or leases either alarm systems or security systems or both and installs, maintains, alters, repairs or services these systems at a location other than their normal place of business, or which responds to or monitors such systems for a fee or other valuable consideration but does not include any businesses which only manufacturer those systems or sells those systems and does not also install, service, maintain, monitor or respond to those systems at the protected premises or premises to be protected;

(4) "Alarm system", any device or collection of devices designed to detect and signal a fire or an intrusion into protected premises or to detect and signal a crime or provide warning of a hazardous or dangerous condition or a medical emergency;

(5) "Board", the Missouri Private Security Alarm Business Registration Board; and

(6) "Security system", any device or collection of devices which is designed to record unlawful acts or provide surveillance for the protection of life or property or to control or prohibit or record access to specific areas;

650.327. No person shall engage in the alarm business in this state unless he obtains a certificate of registration as required by sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act. No business shall engage in the alarm business in this state unless at least one of the principals active in the business or a person employed as a manager or supervisor is registered as an alarm business manager and all such employees as required in sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act are registered and the business itself has registered as required by sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act.

650.329. 1. There is hereby created within the division of public safety the "Missouri Private Security Alarm Business Registration Board".

2. The board shall consist of five members, including one public member, appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Each member of the board shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of this state, and except as provided hereinafter, shall be registered as an alarm agent in this state. Members shall be appointed to serve a three year term, except that the first board appointed shall consist of two members whose terms shall be for one year, two members whose terms shall be for two years, and one member whose term shall be for three years. Each registered member shall have been registered in this state for at least three years, except for those who are appointed within the first four years following the effective date of this act. Registered members appointed may not be employed by any other board member or by an alarm business with which another board member is employed. The public member shall be at the time of his appointment a registered voter and a person who is not and never was a member of any profession licensed or regulated under the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act, or the spouse of such person; and a person who does not have and never has had a material or financial interest in either the providing of the professional services regulated by the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act, or an activity or organization directly related to any business or occupation regulated under the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act. Registered members shall be chosen from a list submitted by the Missouri burglar and fire alarm association. All other members, including public members, shall be chosen from lists submitted by the director of the department of public safety. The duties of the public member shall not include the determination of the technical requirements to be met for registration or whether any person meets such technical requirements or of the technical competence or technical judgment of a registrant or a candidate for registration.

3. Appointments to the board shall be made in such a manner as to ensure that a majority of the members will not be appointed from the same geographic area of this state.

4. Each member of the board shall be issued a commission or certificate of appointment and, before beginning his official duties, shall take the oath of office required by section 11, article VII, constitution of Missouri.

5. Members of the board shall not receive any compensation but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.

6. The board shall hold an annual meeting at which it shall elect from its membership a chairperson and vice chairperson. The board may hold such additional meetings as may be required in the performance of its duties provided that notice of every meeting must be given to each member at least ten days prior to the date of the meeting. A quorum of the board shall consist of a majority of its members.

7. The governor may remove a member for misconduct, incompetence, neglect of his official duties, or for cause.

650.330. The board may sue and be sued in its official name, and shall have a seal which shall be affixed to all licenses, certified copies of records and papers on file, and to such other instruments as the board may direct, and all courts shall take judicial notice of such seal. The office of the board shall be at Jefferson City.

650.332. The board shall:

(1) Recommend prosecution for violations of the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act to the appropriate prosecuting or circuit attorney;

(2) Employ such employees as are necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act;

(3) Promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to administer the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo;

(4) Exercise all budgeting, purchasing, reporting and other related management functions;

(5) Examine and pass on the qualifications of all applicants for registration under the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act and shall register each qualified applicant;

(6) Receive, investigate, approve or disapprove applications for and renewals of registration, cancel or suspend registrations for nonpayment of fees or failure to satisfy the requirements of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act or the rules established by the board;

(7) Maintain a record of its actions relating to the issuance, denial, registration, suspension and revocation of registrations; and

(8) Receive and act upon complaints by the public or by registrants.

650.334. 1. Only persons who bear or corporations or associations whose officers bear a good reputation for honesty, integrity and fair dealings, and who are competent to transact the alarm business in such a manner as to safeguard the interest of the public, shall be registered under sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act, and only after satisfactory proof of such qualifications has been presented to the board.

2. Every applicant for registration as an alarm business manager shall establish in a form acceptable to the board that he was engaged in or employed by an alarm business in sales, service or installation for a period of three years prior to filing the application. In lieu of such experience the applicant shall take and pass, with a score acceptable to the board, an examination designed to measure an individual's knowledge and competence in the alarm business.

3. Every applicant for registration as an alarm business shall have at least one registered alarm business manager either as an owner officer, partner or supervisor. Every applicant for registration as an alarm business must show, in a form acceptable to the board, that all principals active in the business as well as all employees as stated in sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act, have been registered with the board as alarm agents.

4. Every applicant for registration as an alarm business shall provide proof of general liability and workers' compensation insurance to the board as the board shall by rule and regulation require.

5. Every person registering as an alarm agent shall complete such application forms and undergo such investigations as the board shall by rule and regulation require. The board shall issue to all alarm agents a registration card which shall contain such information as the board shall by rule and regulation require. The board shall, by rule and regulation, provide for a temporary identification card to be issued by an alarm business to employees prior to issuance by the board of the registration card.

6. Applications for registration shall be in writing on forms furnished by the board, accompanied by such information, recommendations and fees as the board may require. Each application shall contain a statement that it is made under oath or affirmation and that its representations are true and correct to the best knowledge and belief of the person signing same, subject to the penalties of making a false affidavit or declaration. Every registration under sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act shall be renewed yearly and the board shall issue a new registration upon receipt of the written application of the applicant and the required renewal fee.

650.337. 1. The board shall set the amount of the fees which sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act authorizes by rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo. The fees shall be set at a level to produce revenue which shall not substantially exceed the cost and expense of administering sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act.

2. All moneys payable under sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto shall be collected by the division of professional registration and transmitted to the department of revenue for deposit in the state treasury to the credit of the Missouri private security alarm business registration fund, which is hereby created. All costs and expenses incurred in administering sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act shall be appropriated and paid from this fund. No other moneys shall be paid out of the state treasury for carrying out the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act. Warrants shall be issued on the state treasurer for payment out of the fund.

3. The provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, to the contrary notwithstanding, money in this fund shall not be transferred and placed to the credit of general revenue until the amount in the fund at the end of the biennium exceeds two times the amount of the appropriation to the board for the preceding fiscal year. The amount, if any, in the fund which shall lapse is that amount in the fund which exceeds the appropriate multiple of the appropriations to the board for the preceding fiscal year.

650.339. 1. The board may refuse to register any person or business known by it to be guilty of any act or practice specified in section 650.343 of this act, or any person or business previously registered whose registration has been revoked, or may refuse to register any association or partnership of which such person is a member, or any corporation of which such person is an officer or in which as a stockholder such person has or exercises a controlling interest either directly or indirectly.

2. Any person denied registration shall be so notified by the board in writing stating the reasons for denial and informing the person so denied of his right to file a complaint with the administrative hearing commission in accordance with the applicable provision of chapter 621, RSMo, and the rules promulgated thereunder. All notices hereunder shall be sent by registered or certified mail to the last known address of the applicant.

650.341. The commission may prescribe necessary rules and regulations pursuant to chapter 536, RSMo, to provide for the registration of nonresidents. Such rules shall require the nonresident to pay a fee equal to the fee a Missouri resident would have to pay in the nonresident's state, for registration in that state, and may provide for registration without examination if such reciprocity is extended to Missouri residents. In the event a nonresident is located in a state requiring a fee but no examination, the nonresident will be subject to such rules and regulations as required by the board.

650.343. 1. The board may cause a complaint to be filed with the administrative hearing commission as provided in chapter 621, RSMo, against any registered person or business or any person who has failed to renew or has surrendered his registration for any one or any combination of the following causes:

(1) Procuring or attempting to procure a registration pursuant to the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act by knowingly making a false statement, submitting false information, refusing to provide complete information in response to a question in an application for registration, or through any form of fraud or misrepresentation;

(2) Failing to meet the minimum qualifications established by the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act;

(3) A conviction, including a conviction based upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, of a crime which is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, and duties of a person registered under the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act;

(4) An act or omission involving dishonesty, fraud, or misrepresentation with the intent to substantially injure another person; or

(5) Willfully disregarding or violating any of the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act or the regulations of the board for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act.

2. After the filing of such complaint the proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 621, RSMo. Upon a finding by the administrative hearing commission that the grounds, provided in subsection 1 of this section, for disciplinary action are met, the board may censure or place the person named in the complaint on probation on such terms and conditions as the board deems appropriate for a period not to exceed five years, or may suspend, for a period not to exceed three years, or revoke the registration.

3. All fees or other compensation received for services which were rendered in violation of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act shall be refunded.

4. Upon application by the board, the attorney general may, on behalf of the board, request that a court of competent jurisdiction grant an injunction, restraining order, or other order as may be appropriate to enjoin a person from:

(1) Offering to engage or engaging in the performance of any acts or practices for which registration is required upon a showing that such acts or practices were performed or offered to be performed without a certificate of registration; or

(2) Engaging in any practice or business authorized by a certificate of registration issued pursuant to sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act upon a showing that the holder presents a substantial probability of serious harm to the health, safety or welfare of any resident of this state or client of the registrant.

650.345. Any person, organization, association or corporation who reports or provides information to the board pursuant to the provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act and who does so in good faith shall not be subject to an action for civil damages as a result thereof.

650.347. Ninety days after the effective date of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act, any provisions of any ordinance, rule or regulation of any political subdivision requiring the local licensing of an alarm business, or requiring that alarm agents or other individuals employed by or associated with an alarm business obtain local ID cards, shall be void and no longer effective.

650.349. The provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.350 of this act shall not prevent a municipality from:

(1) Requiring an alarm business to pay a fee or tax or license fee for the privilege of operating a business in the municipality if that alarm business maintains a business office within that municipality;

(2) Requiring alarm agents and alarm business managers operating in the municipality to list with a designated department their name and registration;

(3) Imposing reasonable ordinances or regulations designed to limit the occurrence of excessive and avoidable false alarms or require automatic shutoffs on local bells or other sounders so long as they are applicable to alarm system users generally;

(4) Requiring that the type of alarm system used be disclosed to appropriate municipal officials or departments so long as no technical details or details pertaining to the degree of alarm protection of the systems are disclosed;

(5) Requiring persons who own, lease, rent, use or otherwise possess an alarm system to obtain a permit to operate the system; or

(6) Requiring an alarm business to install a security or alarm system in accordance with applicable codes and standards in their municipality.

650.350. Any violation of any provisions of sections 650.325 to 650.349 of this act is a class A misdemeanor.