H. B. 2768

(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss)
[Introduced January 29, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend chapter twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article three-d, relating to enacting a standardized false alarm ordinance; defining terms; providing for public safety agency response; requiring registration; establishing fees; providing for penalties for violations; establishing a system of administration; and establishing conditions for suspension or loss of registration.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article three-d, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3D. MODEL FALSE ALARM ORDINANCES.
§29-3D-1. Purpose.
(a) The purpose of this article is to:
(1) Enact a standardized false alarm ordinance which shall be utilized by any county which chooses to adopt a false alarm ordinance; and
(2) To encourage alarm users and alarm companies to properly use alarm systems and maintain their operational effectiveness in order to reduce or eliminate the incidence of false alarms.
(b) This article governs systems intended to summon public safety agency

response, and requires registration, establishes fees, provides for penalties for violations, establishes a system of administration, and sets conditions for suspension or loss of registration.
§29-3D-2. Definitions.

In this article:

(a) "Advisory board" means those persons designated by a governing authority. It should be representative of the community, alarm industry, and public safety agencies. The advisory board should review and recommend false alarm reduction efforts and report to the governing authority of its jurisdiction.
(b) "Alarm administrator" means a person or persons designated by the governing authority to administer, control and review false alarm reduction efforts. In counties with an enhanced 911 system, the director of E-911 shall be the alarm administrator.
(c) "Alarm company" means the business, by an individual, partnership, corporation or other entity of selling, leasing, maintaining, servicing, repairing, altering, replacing, moving, installing or monitoring an alarm system in an alarm site.
(d) "Alarm dispatch request" means a notification to a communication center

that an alarm, either manual or automatic has been activated at a particular alarm site.
(e) "Alarm registration" or permit means the notification by an alarm company or an alarm user to the alarm administrator that an alarm system has been installed and is in use.
(f) "Alarm review board" should consist of five members as follows: The alarm administrator, a dispatcher or other person appointed by the public safety governing authority, a local alarm company representative appointed by the West Virginia burglar and fire alarm association and two members of the public at large, appointed by the governing authority to deal with conflicts and disputes that cannot be resolved at a lower level.
(g) "Alarm site" means a single fixed premises or location served by an alarm system or systems. If a separate alarm system is installed in an individual unit within a multi-tenant building or complex at the expense of the tenant that individual unit shall be considered a separate alarm site

(h) "Alarm system" means a device or series of devices, including, but not limited to, systems interconnected with a radio frequency method such as cellular or private radio signals, which emit or transmit a remote or local audible, visual or electronic signal indicating an alarm condition and intended to summon public safety agency response, including a local alarm system. "Alarm system" does not include an alarm installed on a vehicle or person unless the vehicle or personal alarm is permanently located at a site.

(i) "Alarm user" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other entity who or which
uses or is in control of any alarm system at its alarm site.

(j) "Alarm user awareness class" means a class for the purpose of educating alarm users about responsible use and operation of alarm systems and the problems created by false alarms.
(k) "Automatic voice dialer" means any electrical, electronic, mechanical or other
device capable of being programmed to send a prerecorded voice message, when activated, over a telephone line, radio or other communication system, to a communication center.

(l) "Cancellation" or "responding agency alarm dispatch cancellation" is the process by which an alarm company providing monitoring verifies with the alarm user or responsible party that a false alarm has occurred and that there is not an existing situation at the alarm site requiring public safety agency response.

(m) "Communications center" means the location within each service area which receives all requests for public safety agency response and dispatches the appropriate agency as needed.
(n) "Conversion" means the transaction or process by which one alarm company begins monitoring of a previously unmonitored alarm system or an alarm system previously monitored by another alarm company.
(o) "Duress alarm" means a silent alarm system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a life threatening situation or a crime in progress requiring public safety agency response.
(p) "False alarm" means an alarm dispatch request to a communication center for a public safety agency response, when the responding officer finds no evidence of a legitimate response requirement after having completed a timely investigation of the alarm site. Multiple signals transmitted from the same signaling device within a twenty-four hour period from Monday at eight o'clock ante meridian to Friday at six o'clock post meridian, or a seventy-two hour period from Friday at six o'clock post meridian to Monday at eight o'clock ante meridian will constitute one false alarm.

(q) "Holdup alarm" means a silent alarm signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a robbery in progress.
(r) "Keyholder" means an individual designated by the alarm user who has agreed to receive notification of an alarm activation, respond to the alarm site within thirty minutes of notification, and upon request grant access to the alarm site and deactivate the alarm system if such becomes necessary.
(s) "Keypad" means a device that allows control of an alarm system by the manual entering of a coded sequence of numbers or letters.
(t) "License" means all licenses governing alarm companies in accordance with the existing
laws of this state, including business registration, contractor license, low voltage electrician license, and NICET certification.
(u) "Local alarm system" means any alarm system that is not monitored but annunciates an alarm only by an internal or external audio device.
(v) "Monitoring" means the process by which an alarm company receives signals from an alarm system and relays an alarm dispatch request to the county communication center for the purpose of summoning public safety agency response to the alarm site.
(w) "One plus duress alarm" means the manual activation of a silent alarm signal by entering at a keypad a code that adds one to the last digit of the normal arm/disarm code.
(x) "Panic" means an audible alarm system signal generated by the manual activation of a device intended to signal a life threatening or emergency situation requiring public safety agency response.
(y) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, organization or similar entity.
(z) "Public safety agency authority" means the commissioner, superintendent, sheriff, chief of police, fire chief, director of a public safety agency or an authorized representative.
(aa) "Takeover" means the transaction or process by which an alarm user takes over control of an existing alarm system, which was previously controlled by another alarm user.
(bb) "Verify" means an attempt, by the alarm company, or its representative, to contact the alarm site by telephonic or other electronic means, whether or not actual contact with a person is made, before requesting public safety agency response, in an attempt to avoid an unnecessary alarm dispatch request.
(cc) "Zones" are subdivisions into which an alarm system is divided to indicate the general location from which an alarm system signal is transmitted.

§29-3D-3. Registration required; application; fee; transferability; false statements.

(a) No alarm user shall operate, or cause to be operated, an alarm system at its alarm site without a valid alarm registration issued by the alarm administrator. A separate registration is required for each alarm site.
(b) The registration fee for an alarm site should reflect the administration cost and shall follow these guidelines: Residential alarm users (single family dwellings) shall be assessed a one-time registration fee of no more than twenty-five dollars; all other alarm users (commercial, industrial, not-for-profit, multiple unit residential) shall be assessed a one-time registration fee of no more than fifty dollars. No refund of a registration fee will be made. The registration fee shall be submitted to the alarm administrator within thirty days after the alarm installation or takeover of an alarm system from previous alarm user.
(c) Upon receipt of a completed application form and the alarm registration fee, the alarm administrator shall register the applicant unless the applicant has:
(1) Failed to pay a fine assessed under section seven of this article, or,
(2) Had an alarm registration for the alarm site suspended or revoked, and the violation causing the suspension or revocation has not been corrected.
(d) Each alarm registration application shall include the following information: The name, complete address (including apartment or suite number), and telephone numbers of the person who will be the registration holder and be responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of the alarm system and payment of fees assessed under this article; the classification of the alarm site as either residential (including condominiums, mobile homes, etc.), commercial or apartment; for each alarm system located at the alarm site, the classification of the alarm system, i.e., burglary, holdup, duress, fire, panic, or other, for each purpose whether audible or silent; mailing address if different from the alarm site; accurate driving instructions to the alarm site; any dangerous or special conditions present at the alarm site; type of business (if any) conducted at the alarm site; signed certification from the alarm user stating: (i) The date of installation, conversion or takeover of the alarm system, whichever is applicable; (ii) the name, address, and phone number of the alarm company performing the alarm system installation, conversion or alarm system takeover and responsible for providing repair service to the alarm system; (iii) the phone number of the alarm company monitoring the alarm system if different from the installing alarm company; (iv) that a set of written operating instructions for the alarm system, including written guidelines on how to avoid false alarms, have been left with the applicant, and that the alarm company has trained the applicant in proper use of the alarm system, including instructions on how to avoid false alarms; and (v) that public safety agency response may be based on factors such as: availability of police and/or fire units, priority of calls, weather conditions, traffic conditions, emergency conditions and staffing levels.
(e) Any false statement of a material fact made by an applicant for the purpose of obtaining an alarm registration shall be sufficient cause for refusal to issue a registration.
(f) An alarm registration cannot be transferred to another person or alarm site. In the event of an alarm system takeover the new alarm user shall reregister the alarm site within thirty business days of the date of the takeover. An alarm user shall inform the alarm administrator of any change that alters any information listed on the registration application within thirty business days.
(g) All fees owed by an applicant shall be paid before a registration may be issued.
(h) Upon registration the alarm user will be given a thirty day grace period during which fines outlined in section seven of this article and suspension of response outlined in section eight of this article will not be imposed. At the end of the thirty-day grace period all fines and other penalties will become applicable.

§29-3D-3a. Alarm systems in apartment buildings and complexes.

(a) The owner or property manager of an apartment building or complex shall obtain an alarm registration for any alarm system operated within the building or complex including offices or common areas with the exceptions outlined in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section.

The annual fee for these registrations or the renewal of these registrations shall be the same as the fee for a nonresidential alarm site.
(b) If a tenant has installed at tenant's expense an individual alarm system in an apartment complex unit the tenant shall register the alarm system with the alarm administrator and shall be subject to the same fees for residential alarm users as outlined in subsection (b), section three of this article. The tenant shall also provide the name of a representative of the apartment owner or property manager who can grant access to the apartment to the alarm company and public safety agencies.
(c) For purposes of enforcing this article against an individual unit as outlined in subsection (b) of this section, the tenant is responsible for false alarms emitted from the alarm system in the individual unit.
(d) Each apartment unit with an individual alarm system that is installed at the expense of a tenant shall be considered a separate alarm site.
§29-3D-4. Duties of the alarm user.
(a) An alarm user shall: Maintain the premises and the alarm system in a manner that will minimize or eliminate false alarms; make every reasonable effort to respond or cause a keyholder to respond to the alarm system's location within thirty minutes when notified by the communication center to deactivate a malfunctioning alarm system, to provide access to the premises, or to provide alternative security for the premises; and not manually activate an alarm for any reason other than an occurrence of an event that the alarm system was intended to report.
(b) An alarm user shall have a properly licensed alarm company inspect the alarm system after two false alarms have occurred in a one-month period. The alarm administrator may waive an inspection requirement if it determines that a false alarm(s) could not have been related to a defect or malfunction in the alarm system. After four false alarms have occurred within a one-month period the alarm user shall have a properly licensed alarm company modify the alarm system to be more false alarm resistant or provide additional user training as appropriate.
(c) The use by an alarm user of automatic voice dialers is prohibited. Each occurrence by which an automatic voice dialer transmits a prerecorded message directly to a communication center shall be subject to a fine of one hundred dollars.
(d) An alarm user shall maintain at each alarm site a set of written operating instructions for each alarm system.
(e)An alarm user shall be responsible for providing and maintaining up-to-date keyholder information to the alarm company.
§29-3D-5. Duties of alarm company.
(a)On and after the effective date of this article, alarm companies shall not program alarm systems so that they are capable of sending one plus duress alarms. Alarm companies may continue to report one plus duress alarms received from alarm systems programmed with one plus duress prior to enactment of this article. However, upon enactment of this article, when a takeover or conversion occurs or if an alarm user requests an alarm system inspection or modification pursuant to subsection (c), section four of this article, an alarm company shall remove the one plus duress alarm capability from such alarm system. Duress alarms shall not be prohibited; however, the duress code used to transmit the duress signal shall be sufficiently different from the arm/disarm code so as not to cause a false alarm.
(b) On and after the effective date of this article, alarm companies shall not install a device activating a hold-up alarm which is a single action nonrecessed button. An alarm company shall remove all single action nonrecessed buttons when a takeover or conversion occurs. Cost for any conversion related to the enactment of this article will be paid by the alarm user.
(c) The alarm company shall adjust the mechanism or cause the mechanism to be adjusted so that an alarm signal audible on the exterior of an alarm site will sound for no longer than ten minutes after being activated or fifteen minutes for systems operating under Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. standards three hundred sixty-five or six hundred nine.
(d) After completion of the installation an alarm company employee shall provide to the alarm user the website address and mailing address of the West Virginia enhanced 911 council which will maintain a current copy of this article and will review with the alarm user a customer false alarm prevention checklist approved by the alarm administrator.
(e) An alarm company performing monitoring services shall:
(1) Offer a training period in which no request for dispatch by a public service agency will occur up to the first seventy-two hours after installation of an alarm system at the discretion of the alarm user, but rather will use that period of time to train the alarm user on proper use of the alarm system unless circumstances necessitate immediate requests for response;
(2) Report alarm signals to the communication center by using telephone numbers designated by the alarm administrator;
(3) Attempt to verify every alarm signal, except a fire, duress, or holdup alarm activation before requesting a public safety agency response to an alarm system signal;
(4) Communicate alarm dispatch requests to the communication center in a manner and form determined by the alarm administrator and the alarm advisory board;
(5) Communicate cancellations to the communication center in a manner and form determined by the alarm administrator and the alarm advisory board;
(6) Ensure that all alarm users of alarm systems equipped with a duress or holdup alarm are given adequate training as to the proper use of the duress or holdup alarm;
(7) Communicate any available information about the location of the alarm;
(8) Communicate type of alarm activation (silent or audible, interior or perimeter);
(9) Provide alarm user registration number when requesting dispatch;
(10) Endeavor to contact the alarm user when an alarm dispatch request is made; and
(11) On and after the effective date of this article, alarm companies that perform monitoring services shall maintain for a period of at least one year, records relating to alarm dispatch request. Records shall include the name, address and phone number of the alarm user, the alarm system zone(s) activated, the time of alarm dispatch request and evidence of

an attempt to verify. The alarm administrator may request copies of such records for individually named alarm users.

§29-3D-6. Duties of the alarm administrator.

(a) The alarm administrator shall:

(1) Designate a manner, form and telephone numbers for the communication of alarm dispatch requests;
(2) Establish a procedure to accept cancellation of alarm dispatch requests; and
(3) Assume responsibility for billing alarm users who fall within the penalty phase of this article.
(b) The alarm administrator shall establish a procedure to record such information on alarm dispatch requests necessary to permit the alarm administrator to maintain records, including, but not limited to, the following information. This information may be relayed by the responding public safety agency officer at the time of clearance to communication center dispatchers, who will then record said information on the call record:
(1) Identification of the registration number for the alarm site;
(2) Identification of the alarm site;
(3) Date and time alarm dispatch request was received;
(4) Date and time of public safety agency officer arrival at the alarm site;
(5) Zone, if available;
(6) Name of alarm user's representative on premises, if any;
(7) Identification of the responsible alarm company;
(8) Whether unable to locate the address; and
(9) Cause of alarm, if known.
(c) The alarm administrator shall establish a procedure for the notification to the alarm user of a false alarm. Options include but are not limited to the

officer leaving a door hanger or notice at the alarm site. The notice shall include the following information:
(1) The date and time of public safety agency response to the false alarm;
(2) The identification number of the responding public safety agency officer, and;
(3) A statement urging the alarm user to ensure that the alarm system is in good working order, regularly inspected and serviced in order to avoid false alarms and resulting fines.
(d) If there is reason to believe that an alarm system is not being used or maintained in a manner that ensures proper operation and suppresses false alarms, the alarm administrator may require a conference with an alarm user and the alarm company responsible for the repair of the alarm system to review the circumstances of each false alarm.
(e) The alarm administrator shall oversee the creation and implementation of an alarm user awareness class. All costs relating to the implementation of the class shall be paid with fees imposed by the provisions of this article. The alarm administrator may request the assistance of alarm companies, the West Virginia burglar and fire alarm association and public safety agencies in developing and implementing the class. The class shall inform alarm users of the problems created by false alarms and teach alarm users how to operate their alarm systems without generating false alarms. The class shall be administered as a joint effort of the alarm administrator and the West Virginia burglar and fire alarm association.
(f) The alarm administrator shall provide all application materials described in this article, including copies of this article, for distribution to alarm users and alarm companies.
§29-3D-7. Fines.
(a) An alarm user shall be subject to fines, warnings and suspension or revocation of registration, depending on the number of false alarms emitted from an alarm system and responded to by a public safety agency within each one-month period beginning the first day of the month and ending the last day of the month based upon the following schedule:
(1) For one false alarm, there is no fine;
(2) For two false alarms, the fine shall be fifty dollars;
(3) For three false alarms, the fine shall be one hundred dollars; and
(4) For four or more false alarms, the fine shall be two hundred dollars per each occurrence of a false alarm.
(b) In addition, any person, operating a nonregistered alarm system, whether suspended or never registered, will be subject to a citation and assessment of a two hundred dollar fine for each false alarm, in addition to any other fines imposed by this article.
(c) An alarm user shall have the option of attending an alarm user awareness class in lieu of paying a fine prescribed by this section: Provided, That no alarm user may take advantage of this substitution more than once.
(d) If cancellation occurs prior to a public safety agency officer arriving at the scene, the occurrence does not constitute a false alarm for the purpose of setting the amount of any potential fine.
(e) The alarm company shall

employee of the alarm company has caused the false alarm by failing to report alarm system maintenance at the alarm site. This citation will not count against the alarm user.
(f) The alarm company can be fined for failure to verify if the alarm administrator determines the existence of a consistent pattern of such failure or that the alarm company has a written policy against verification.
(g) The alarm company may be fined if the alarm administrator determines that an alarm company employee made a false statement concerning the inspection of an alarm site or the performance of an alarm system.
(h) Refusal by a keyholder to respond to any alarm constitutes a false alarm for purposes of assessing fines and penalties.
(i) Invalid or out-of-date information that is determined to be the cause of keyholder non
response to any alarm constitutes a false alarm for purposes of assessing fines and penalties.
(j) In jurisdictions with multiple ordinances in place (i.e., this article and an existing city ordinance) the alarm user shall not be fined by more than one entity for any single incident.
§29-3D-8. Suspension of response.
(a) The alarm administrator may suspend alarm response if it is determined that:
(1) The alarm user has had four or more false alarms in one month;
(2) There is a false statement of a material fact in the application for a registration;
(3) The alarm user has failed to make timely payment of a fine assessed under section seven of this article or fee assessed under section three of this article;
(4) The alarm user has failed to submit a written certification from an alarm company, that complies with the requirements of this article, stating that the alarm system has been inspected and repaired, if necessary, by the alarm company.
(b) Any and all response during the period in which an alarm registration is suspended is subject to the maximum fines as set in section seven of this article. An alarm company shall not continue to request public safety agency dispatch to an alarm site after notification by the alarm administrator that the registration has been suspended or revoked and is subject to enforcement and penalties set in section twelve of this article.
(c) Unless there is separate indication that there is a legitimate need for response, the public safety agency authority

may refuse public safety agency response to an alarm dispatch request at an alarm site for which the alarm registration is suspended.
(d) If the alarm registration is reinstated pursuant to section ten of this article, the alarm administrator may suspend alarm response if it is determined that two false alarms have occurred within sixty days after the reinstatement date.
§29-3D-9. Notification.
(a) At the time of installation of the alarm system the alarm company shall provide to the alarm user the website address and mailing address of the West Virginia enhanced 911 council which will maintain a current copy of this article. The alarm user shall sign an affidavit stating that they have received the information and are required to obtain a copy of the article. The alarm company shall keep each affidavit on file.
(b) The alarm administrator will notify the alarm user and the alarm company in writing after the fourth false alarm that alarm response

has been suspended. This notice of suspension will also include the amount of the fine for each false alarm and a description of the appeals procedure available to the alarm user and the alarm company. §29-3D-10. Appeals.
(a) An alarm user may appeal the assessment of a fine, suspension, or request reinstatement to the alarm administrator. An appeal fee of twenty-five dollars shall accompany the appeal by the alarm user. Appeal fees shall be returned to the alarm user if the appeal is upheld. The filing of an appeal with the alarm administrator stays the assessment of the fine or suspension until the alarm administrator makes a final decision.
(b) The alarm user shall file a written appeal to the alarm administrator by setting forth the reasons for the appeal within ten days after receipt of the fine.
(c) If the alarm administrator denies the issuance or renewal of an alarm registration, or suspends response, the alarm administrator shall send written notice of the action and a statement of the right to an appeal to either

the applicant or alarm user and the alarm company.
(d) A second level of appeal is available to the alarm review board in cases where the alarm user is not satisfied with the decision reached at a lower level.
(e) The applicant or alarm user or the alarm company on behalf of the alarm user may appeal the decision of the alarm administrator to the alarm review board by filing a written request for a review setting forth the reasons for the appeal within twenty days after receipt of the notice from the alarm administrator.
(f) The alarm review board shall conduct a formal hearing and consider the evidence by any interested person(s). The board shall make its decision on the basis of the preponderance of evidence presented at the hearing. The board shall render a decision within thirty days after the request for an appeal hearing is filed. The board shall affirm or reverse the assessment of the fine. The decision of the board is final as to administrative remedies of the jurisdiction.
(g) Filing of a request for appeal shall stay the action by the alarm administrator suspending a registration or requiring payment of a fine, until the alarm review board has completed the review. If a request for appeal is not made within the twenty-day period, the action of the alarm administrator is final.
§29-3D-11. Reinstatement.
(a) Any person whose alarm response

reinstated by the alarm administrator or the alarm review board if the person has done by one or more of the following:
(1) Submit an updated application and the registration fee;
(2) Pay, or otherwise resolve, all citations and fines;
(3) Submit a certification from an alarm company that complies with the requirements of this article, stating that the alarm system has been inspected and repaired, if necessary, by the alarm company; and one or more of the following, if applicable:
(A) Submit proof that an employee of the alarm company caused the false alarm;
(B) File with the alarm administrator a certificate showing that the alarm user has successfully completed the alarm user awareness class

as provided under subsection (e), section six of this article; or
(C) File with the alarm administrator a written statement from the alarm company that the alarm system has been inspected and found to be in good working order or repaired so as to be in good working order.
§29-3D-12. Enforcement and penalties.
Enforcement of this article may be by civil action and/or by criminal prosecution, for offenses under local law.
§29-3D-13. Confidentiality.
Information contained in registration applications and applications for appeals shall be held in confidence by all employees or representatives of the county and by any third-party administrator or employees of a third-party administrator with access to such information. Under no circumstances may such information be sold, divulged, or used in any way by any county or third-party for soliciting or any other purpose.
§29-3D-14. Government immunity.
Registration of an alarm system is not intended to, nor does it, create a contract, duty or obligation, either expressed or implied, of response. Any and all liability and consequential damage resulting from the failure to respond to a notification is hereby disclaimed and governmental immunity as provided by law is retained. By registering an alarm system, the alarm user acknowledges that police response may be based on factors such as: availability of police units, priority of calls, weather conditions, traffic conditions, emergency conditions and staffing levels.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to enact a standardized false alarm ordinance for localities wishing to adopt it.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.