A new bill concerning fire alarm installation, monitoring and maintenance was proposed by the House of Representatives during the Illinois 97th General Assembly on Feb. 9, 2011. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Donald L. Moffitt, was moved from the Rules Committee to the Executive Committee on Feb. 15, bringing it one step closer to becoming law.
Titled Fire District Antitrust Exemption, IL HB 1301 would give fire protection districts in the state of Illinois the authority to mandate the use of fire alarm monitoring equipment “in order to improve the response time of the district’s fire department to locations equipped with fire alarms thereby saving lives and property and promoting firefighter safety.” The bill also states fire protection districts could set up and operate wireless radio networks and monitoring stations, establishing monitoring fees. Under this legislation, fire protection districts would be exempt from antitrust laws.