As president of Georgia Electronic Life Safety and Systems Association (GELSSA), John D. Loud was pleased to hear that House Bill 59 (HB 59) passed. House Bill 59, with 157 House votes and 32 Senate votes, will be effective July 1, 2013.

“In order to preserve valuable municipal and county law enforcement and firefighter resources,” HB 59 requires alarm monitoring companies in Georgia to make at least two “reasonable attempts … to contact the alarm site or alarm user … [with exception] in the case of a fire alarm or a panic or robbery-in-progress alarm or in cases where a crime-in-progress has been verified to be true by video or audible means.”

According to the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC), Frisco, Texas, “Georgia joins Florida and Tennessee in mandating that alarm monitoring facilities place two calls to a customer to determine if an alarm is valid before contacting police. This ECV provision has demonstrated success across North America, reducing unnecessary calls for police dispatch by up to 70 percent. It is the single strongest provision SIAC has seen demonstrated to weed out alarm signals that were activated accidently.”

SIAC added that this marks a “major victory for all proponents of high standards for alarm management.” The organization recognized the efforts of John Loud, GELSSA members, law enforcement leadership in the state, and SIAC’s own Glen Mowrey.

For information on House Bill 59, visit http://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/en-US/Display/20132014/HB/59.

For information on GELSSA, visit http://www.gelssa.com/  or e-mail gelssainfo@gelssa.com.