84R8645 TSR-F
By: Simmons H.B. No. 2162
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to municipal regulation of the use of alarm systems and
camera systems; authorizing a municipal fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 214.191, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 214.191. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Alarm system" has the meaning assigned by Section
1702.002, Occupations Code [means a device or system that transmits
a signal intended to summon police of a municipality in response to
a burglary. The term includes an alarm that emits an audible signal
on the exterior of a structure. The term does not include an alarm
installed on a vehicle, unless the vehicle is used for a habitation
at a permanent site, or an alarm designed to alert only the
inhabitants within the premises].
(2) "Alarm systems monitor" means a person who acts as
an alarm systems company under Section 1702.105, Occupations Code.
(3) "Camera systems company" means a person who:
(A) sells, installs, or services a closed circuit
television, camera system, surveillance system, or still camera
system; or
(B) offers to perform a service described by
Paragraph (A).
(4) "Closed circuit television," "camera system,"
"surveillance system," or "still camera system" means a device or
system of devices that:
(A) records or transmits, including transmission
by an intranet or Internet device, an image or series of images for
the purpose of security or surveillance;
(B) is monitored by security personnel or an
alarm systems monitor for the purpose of security or surveillance;
(C) is not used exclusively:
(i) to view or monitor traffic conditions
on public roads;
(ii) to detect motor vehicle violations on
public roads;
(iii) for telephone or video conferencing;
(iv) to monitor a manufacturing process;
(v) for a medical purpose by medical
practitioners;
(vi) by a courtroom reporter for recording
or archiving depositions or testimony;
(vii) in the course of an ongoing
investigation, when installed by and remaining under the control of
a licensed investigations company; or
(viii) by a law enforcement agency to
monitor criminal activity; and
(D) does not include a camera used for
videoconferencing that is integrated with or attached to:
(i) a wireless communication device capable
of using a commercial mobile service as defined by 47 U.S.C. Section
332;
(ii) computer equipment, as defined by
Section 361.952, Health and Safety Code; or
(iii) a television, as defined by Section
361.952, Health and Safety Code.
(5) "False alarm" means a notification of possible
criminal activity reported to law enforcement that is:
(A) based solely on electronic information
remotely received by an alarm systems monitor;
(B) uncorroborated by an eyewitness, video
evidence, or photographic evidence that an emergency exists; and
(C) verified by an agency of the municipality
that no emergency exists after an on-site inspection of the
location from which the notification originated.
(6) [(2)] "Permit" means a certificate, license,
permit, or other form of permission that authorizes a person to
engage in an action.
SECTION 2. Section 214.193, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 214.193. DURATION OF MUNICIPAL PERMIT. (a) If a
municipality adopts an ordinance that requires a person to obtain a
permit from the municipality before a person may use an alarm system
or act as a camera systems company in the municipality, the
ordinance must provide that the permit is valid for at least one
year.
(b) This requirement does not affect the authority of the
municipality to:
(1) revoke, suspend, or otherwise affect the duration
of a permit for disciplinary reasons at any time during the period
for which the permit is issued; [or]
(2) make a permit valid for a period of less than one
year if necessary to conform the permit to the termination schedule
established by the municipality for permits; or
(3) make a permit valid for a period of less than one
year if necessary to conform the permit to a municipal ordinance
that references a camera systems company.
SECTION 3. Section 214.194, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (b) to
read as follows:
(a-1) If a municipality adopts an ordinance that requires a
person to pay an annual fee to obtain a permit from the municipality
before the person may act as a camera systems company in the
municipality, the fee shall be used for the:
(1) processing, maintenance, and issuance of the
permit;
(2) maintenance and oversight of the permitting
system; and
(3) regulation and enforcement actions that relate to
camera system permits.
(b) A municipal permit fee imposed under this section for an
alarm system may not exceed the rate of:
(1) $50 a year for a residential location; and
(2) $100 a year for other alarm system locations.
SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 214, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 214.1945 to read as follows:
Sec. 214.1945. MUNICIPAL CAMERA SYSTEMS PERMIT. (a) If a
municipality adopts an ordinance that requires a person to obtain a
permit from the municipality before the person may act as a camera
systems company in the municipality, the ordinance must require an
applicant for a permit, at a minimum, to:
(1) identify the business or contractor;
(2) describe the scope of the work to be performed; and
(3) provide, for each employee and contractor who will
have access to the camera system or camera system records, photo
identification that is issued by the state.
(b) A municipality may not adopt or enforce an ordinance
that:
(1) requires a person to pay an annual fee to obtain a
permit from the municipality to use a camera system; or
(2) violates Section 1702.134, Occupations Code.
(c) A municipality may not require a person licensed under
Chapter 1702, Occupations Code, to obtain a permit described by
Subsection (a).
SECTION 5. The heading to Section 214.195, Local Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 214.195. NONRENEWAL OR REVOCATION OF PERMIT; [AND]
TERMINATION OF MUNICIPAL RESPONSE; DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.
SECTION 6. Section 214.195, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided in Subsections [Subsection] (d) and
(e), a municipality may not terminate its law enforcement response
to a residential permit holder because of excess false alarms if the
false alarm fees are paid in full.
(e) A municipality may refuse to respond to a location if
the location has had more than eight other false alarms in the
preceding 12-month period.
SECTION 7. Section 214.196, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 214.196. ON-SITE INSPECTION REQUIRED. A municipality
may not consider a false alarm to have occurred unless [a response
is made by] an agency of the municipality [within 30 minutes of the
alarm notification and the agency] determines from an inspection of
the interior or exterior of the premises that the alarm report by an
alarm systems monitor was false.
SECTION 8. Section 214.197, Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 214.197. PENALTIES FOR FALSE ALARMS. (a) A
municipality may impose a penalty for the report [signaling] of a
false alarm by an alarm systems monitor [a burglar alarm system] if
at least three other false alarms have occurred during the
preceding 12-month period. The amount of the penalty for the report
[signaling] of a false alarm as described by Section 214.196 may not
exceed:
(1) $50, if the location has had more than three but
fewer than six other false alarms in the preceding 12-month period;
(2) $75, if the location has had more than five but
fewer than eight other false alarms in the preceding 12-month
period; or
(3) $100, if the location has had eight or more other
false alarms in the preceding 12-month period.
(b) A municipality may not impose a penalty authorized under
Subsection (a) if visual proof of possible criminal activity
recorded by an alarm systems monitor or camera system is provided to
the municipality before the inspection of the premises by an agency
of the municipality.
(c) A municipality may impose a penalty for the report of a
false alarm by a person not licensed under Chapter 1702,
Occupations Code.
(d) A municipality may not impose or collect any fine, fee,
or penalty related to a false alarm, alarm system, or camera system
unless the fine, fee, or penalty is defined in the ordinance in
accordance with this subchapter.
SECTION 9. Section 214.200(b), Local Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A municipality that does not respond to an alarm system
or camera system signal is not liable for damages that may occur
relating to the cause of the alarm system or camera system signal.
SECTION 10. Subchapter F, Chapter 214, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 214.201 to read as follows:
Sec. 214.201. EXCEPTIONS FOR CERTAIN ALARM SYSTEMS. (a) A
property owner or an agent of the property owner authorized to make
decisions regarding the use of the property may, without permission
or exception of the municipality, elect to exclude the municipality
from receiving an alarm signal by an alarm system located on the
owner's property.
(b) If an election is made under Subsection (a), the
municipality:
(1) may not impose a fee to obtain a permit to use the
alarm system;
(2) may impose a fee, not to exceed $100, for each law
enforcement response to a signal from the alarm system requested by
an alarm systems monitor; and
(3) may not impose or collect any other fine, fee, or
penalty related to the alarm system.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2015.