ASSEMBLY, No. 994
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION
By Assemblymen MORAN and IMPREVEDUTO
An Act concerning the regulation of locksmiths and burglar alarm, fire alarm, and electronic security businesses, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Burglar Alarm, Fire Alarm and Electronic Security Business and Locksmith Regulation Act."
2. As used in this act:
"Alarm business" means the installation, servicing or maintenance of burglar alarm, fire alarm or electronic security systems, or the monitoring or responding to alarm signals when provided in conjunction therewith. "Installation," as used in this definition, includes the survey of a premises, the design and preparation of the specifications for the equipment or system to be installed pursuant to a survey, the installation of the equipment or system, or the demonstration of the equipment or system after the installation is completed, but does not include any survey, design or preparation of specifications for equipment or for a system which is prepared by an engineer licensed pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1938, c.342 (C.45:8-27 et seq.), or an architect licensed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 3 of Title 45 of the Revised Statutes if the survey, design, or preparation of specifications is part of a design for construction of a new building or premises or a renovation of an existing building or premises, which renovation includes components other than the installation of a burglar alarm, fire alarm or electronic security system, and further does not include the design or preparation of specifications for the equipment or system to be installed that are within the practice of professional engineering as defined in subsection (b) of section 2 of P.L.1938, c.342 (C.45:8-28).
"Burglar alarm" means a security system comprised of an interconnected series of alarm devices or components, including systems interconnected with radio frequency signals, which emits an audible, visual or electronic signal indicating an alarm condition and providing a warning of intrusion, which is designed to discourage crime.
"Business firm" means a partnership, corporation or other business entity engaged in the alarm business or locksmithing services.
"Committee" means the Burglar, Fire Alarm and Locksmith Advisory Committee created by section 4 of this act.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs.
"Electronic security" means a security system comprised of an interconnected series of devices or components, including systems with audio and video signals or other electronic systems, which emits or transmits an audible, visual or electronic signal warning of intrusion and provides notification of authorized entry or exit, which is designed to discourage crime.
"Fire alarm" means a security system comprised of an interconnected series of alarm devices or components, including systems interconnected with radio frequency signals, which emits an audible, visual or electronic signal indicating an alarm condition and provides a warning of the presence of smoke or fire: "Fire alarm" does not mean a system whose primary purpose is telecommunications with energy control, the monitoring of the interior environment being an incidental feature thereto.
"Licensed locksmith" means a person who engages in locksmithing services who has met the eligibility requirements contained in subsection b. of section 7 of this act and has been duly licensed under this act.
"Licensed locksmith apprentice" means a person who provides locksmithing services to the public for compensation, who has met the eligibility requirements contained in subsection c. of section 7 of this act and has been duly licensed under this act.
"Licensee" means a person licensed to engage in the alarm business or in the occupation of locksmith or locksmith apprentice pursuant to the provisions of this act.
"Locksmithing services" means the modification, recombination, repair or installation of mechanical locking devices and electronic security systems for any type of compensation and includes the following: repairing, rebuilding, recoding, servicing, adjusting, installing, manipulating or bypassing of a mechanical or electronic locking device, for controlled access or egress to premises, vehicles, safes, vaults, safe doors, lock boxes, automatic teller machines or other devices for safeguarding areas where access is meant to be limited; operating a mechanical or electronic locking device, safe or vault by means other than those intended by the manufacturer of such locking devices, safes or vaults; or consulting and providing technical advice regarding selection of hardware and locking systems of mechanical or electronic locking devices and electronic security systems.
3. The director shall:
a. Administer and enforce the provisions of this act;
b. Within 90 days following the effective date of this act, and as necessary thereafter, promulgate, in consultation with the committee, rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act;
c. Examine and pass on the qualifications of all applicants for a license under this act and issue a license to each qualified applicant;
d. Maintain a record of all applicants for a license, showing for each the date of application, name, age, qualifications, place of business and place of residence, and whether the application was rejected or a license granted, and the date of such action;
e. Establish, in consultation with the committee, professional standards for licensees and employees;
f. Exercise any investigative powers and impose any of the penalties provided in sections 21 through 27 of this act, as necessary or appropriate;
g. Conduct hearings pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.);
h. Conduct proceedings before any court of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of the provisions of this act;
i. Annually publish a list of the names, places of business and residences of all licensees;
j. Establish and revise the charges for licenses, license renewals, and other services performed;
k. Establish classifications, after consulting with the committee, in order to regulate the different disciplines of work regulated under this act;
l. Establish standards, in consultation with the committee, for continuing occupational competency in locksmithing services; and
m. Be empowered to do such other things as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
4. In order to advise the director in the administration of the provisions of this act, there is created in the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs, a Burglar, Fire Alarm and Locksmith Advisory Committee. The committee shall be comprised of 13 members to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for terms of three years, except that of the members first appointed, four shall serve for one year, five shall serve for two years and four shall serve for three years. Two members of the committee shall have been engaged, on a full-time basis, in the alarm business for at least five consecutive years immediately preceding their appointments, shall be members of the New Jersey Burglar and Fire Alarm Association and, except for the members first appointed, shall be licensed under the provisions of this act; one committee member shall be a member of the Division of State Police, one shall be a municipal fire prevention officer, one shall be a municipal crime prevention officer, one shall be a municipal fire sub-code official, one shall be a municipal building inspector, one shall be a member of the Automatic Fire Alarm Association of New Jersey who shall have been engaged, on a full-time basis, in the alarm business for at least five consecutive years immediately preceding appointment and, except for the member first appointed, shall be licensed under the provisions of this act, two shall be members of a duly recognized professional locksmith association in New Jersey who shall have been engaged on a full-time basis, as practicing locksmiths for at least five consecutive years immediately preceding appointment and, except for the members first appointed, shall be licensed under the provisions of this act, one shall be a member of the New Jersey Burglar and Fire Alarm Association and a member of a duly recognized locksmith association in New Jersey who shall have been engaged on a full-time basis in the alarm business for at least five consecutive years immediately preceding appointment and, except for the member first appointed, shall be licensed to engage in the alarm business under the provisions of this act, one shall be a member of a duly recognized locksmith association in New Jersey and a member of the New Jersey Burglar and Fire Alarm Association who shall have been engaged on a full-time basis as a practicing locksmith for at least five consecutive years immediately preceding appointment and, except for the member first appointed, shall be licensed to engage in the occupation of locksmith under the provisions of this act, and one shall be a public member and resident of the State without any association with the alarm business or the occupation of locksmith.
Each member shall hold office for the term of appointment and until his successor is appointed and qualified. A member is eligible to be reappointed to the committee. A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring in the membership of the committee for any reason other than the expiration of the term shall have a term of appointment for the unexpired term only. All vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
5. a. No person shall advertise that he is authorized to engage in or engage in the alarm business or otherwise engage in the installation, service or maintenance of burglar alarm, fire alarm or electronic security systems unless he satisfies the requirements of this act.
b. No person shall represent himself as qualified to engage in the occupation of locksmith or locksmith apprentice unless he is licensed as a locksmith or locksmith apprentice, as the case may be, in accordance with the provisions of this act.
6. a. Application for a license to engage in the alarm business or to engage in the occupation of locksmith or locksmith apprentice, as the case may be, shall be made to the director in the manner and on the forms as the director may prescribe.
(1) An application to engage in the alarm business shall include the name, age, residence, present and previous occupations of the applicant, and, in the case of a business firm engaged in the alarm business , of each member, officer or director thereof; the name of the municipality and the location therein by street number or other appropriate description of the principal place of business and the location of each branch office.
(2) An application to engage in the occupation of locksmith or locksmith apprentice shall include the name, residence and principal business address of the applicant, or in the case of an employee, the principal business address of his employer.
b. Every applicant shall submit to the director, together with the application, his photograph, in passport size, a list of all criminal offenses of which he has been convicted, setting forth the date and place of each conviction and the name under which he was convicted, if other than that on the application, and fingerprints of his two hands taken on standard fingerprint cards by a State or municipal law enforcement agency. Before approving an application, the director shall submit the fingerprints of the applicant to the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety, for comparative analysis. The director is authorized to exchange fingerprint data with and receive criminal history record information from the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for use in making the determinations required by this act. The applicant shall bear the cost for the criminal history record check. No license shall be issued to any applicant whose license has been revoked under the provisions of this act within five years of the date of filing of an application.
c. If an applicant files with the director fingerprints of a person other than the applicant, he shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree and shall have his license application denied or license revoked.
d. The director may require other information of the applicant and, if the applicant is proposing to qualify a business firm, of the business firm to determine the professional competence and integrity of the concerned parties.
7. a. An applicant seeking licensure to engage in the alarm business shall:
(1) Be at least 18 years of age;
(2) Meet qualifications established by the director regarding experience, financial responsibility and integrity; and
(3) Establish his qualifications to perform and supervise various phases of alarm installation, service and maintenance as evidenced by successful completion of an examination to be prescribed by the director, in consultation with the committee, except that any person engaged in the alarm business on the effective date of this act and filing an application within 120 days following the operative date of this act, shall not be required to submit evidence of the successful completion of the examination requirement provided that they show proof of 40 hours of technical training approved by the director upon the advice of the committee. No examination requirement shall apply to any person providing evidence of having been engaged in the alarm business for at least one year prior to the effective date of this act.
b. An applicant seeking licensure as a locksmith shall:
(1) Be at least 18 years of age;
(2) Be of good moral character, and not have been convicted of a crime of the first, second or third degree within 10 years prior to the filing of the application;
(3) Present evidence to the director of having successfully completed any training requirements established by the director by regulation; and
(4) Successfully complete any written examination administered or approved by the director to determine the applicant's competence to engage in the occupation of locksmith, except that no examination requirement shall apply to any person engaged in the occupation of locksmith who has been engaged in the occupation of locksmith for at least one year prior to the effective date of this act and who files an application within 120 days following the operative date of this act.
c. An applicant seeking licensure as a locksmith apprentice shall:
(1) Be of good moral character, and not have been convicted of a crime of the first, second or third degree within 10 years prior to the filing of the application;
(2) Present evidence to the director of having successfully completed any training requirements established by the director by regulation; and
(3) Successfully complete any written examination administered or approved by the director to determine the applicant's competence to engage in the occupation of locksmith apprentice.
8. The provisions of this act regarding the practice of locksmithing services shall not apply to:
a. The activities of any person performing public emergency services for a governmental entity if that person is operating under the direction or control of the organization by which he is employed;
b. The activities of any sales representative who is offering a sales demonstration to licensed locksmiths or locksmith apprentices;
c. The activities of any automotive service dealer or lock manufacturer, or their agent or employee, while servicing, installing, repairing, or rebuilding locks from a product line utilized by that dealer or lock manufacturer;
d. The activities of any member of a trade union hired to install any mechanical locking device as part of a new building construction or renovation project; and
e. The activities of any person using any key duplicating machine or key blanks, except for keys marked "do not duplicate" or "master key."
9. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act to the contrary, the director shall, upon application with submission of satisfactory proof and payment of the prescribed fee, within six months following the effective date of this act, issue a locksmith license to: a. any person who has successfully completed a locksmith apprentice program which has been approved by the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training of the United States Department of Labor; or b. any person who has been engaged full-time in the occupation of locksmith for at least three years immediately prior to the date of his application for a locksmith license.
10. a. When an individual seeking licensure to engage in the alarm business or the occupation of locksmith proposes to do business in his own name, he shall so state on the license application, and the license, if granted, shall be issued only to that individual.
b. If the applicant is proposing to qualify a business firm, the application shall also state the name or names of the partnership and its partners, or of the corporation and its officers and directors, or of such other business firm and its members. The application shall show that the person applying for the license is legally qualified to act for the business firm in all matters connected with its alarm business or its locksmithing services, as the case may be , and that he has authority to supervise the work undertaken by the business firm. The license, when issued upon application to qualify a business firm, shall be in the name of the business firm, with the name of the qualified individual noted thereon.
c. (1) In the case of a business firm, at least one individual legally qualified to act for and supervise the work performed by the business firm in matters connected with the alarm business or locksmithing services, as the case may be, shall be licensed under this act in order for the business firm to continue in the alarm business or in providing locksmithing services. If that individual so qualified and licensed ceases to be affiliated with the business firm in that capacity, the business firm shall, in writing, so inform the director within 30 days of the termination of affiliation, and shall within 45 days following termination, requalify for a license pursuant to subsection b. of this section. No business firm shall continue in the alarm business or in providing locksmithing services after expiration of the 45 day period, unless a new license has been issued.
(2) When a licensee qualified as a business firm proposes to affiliate with another licensee qualified as the same type of business firm, the licensee shall so inform the director and submit his license thereto, and shall apply for a new license in accordance with subsection b. of this section. A license issued pursuant to this act shall not be transferable.
d. Licenses shall be issued to qualified applicants seeking licensure to engage in the alarm business or as a locksmith or locksmith apprentice for a three-year period, upon payment of a filing fee. License renewals shall be issued for a three-year period upon the payment of a renewal fee. A renewal application shall be filed with the director at least 45 days prior to expiration of a license.
11. a. Licenses shall be in a form prescribed by the director.
b. In addition to any other information required by the director, a license shall set forth the full name of the applicant, the alarm or locksmithing services business name under which the applicant is authorized to operate, the location of the principal office of the alarm or locksmithing services business and the location of each branch office for which the license is issued, the issuance and expiration dates of the license, and any other information required by the director. In the event of any change in the partners, officers, directors or members of the business firm, any change in the address of any branch office or principal office of the business, or if the licensee ceases to be affiliated with the business firm, the director shall be notified in writing of the change within 30 days thereafter. Failure to give proper notification shall be sufficient cause for revocation of the license.
12. Except in the case of an employee licensed as a locksmith or locksmith apprentice, before a licensee exercises any rights under the license issued to him, the license, or a certified copy thereof, shall be posted and, at all times thereafter while the license is in force, be displayed in a conspicuous place in the principal office and in each branch office for which it is issued. In the event that any license or certified copy thereof issued by the director is lost or destroyed, notice of the loss or destruction shall be given to the director immediately, and the director may issue a duplicate or certified copy thereof. Upon written application to the director setting forth a change in the location of any branch office or principal place of business of the licensee as set forth in the license, the director may authorize the change, in which case the licensee shall surrender to the director his license and all copies thereof, and the director may either endorse thereon the change or issue a new license as of the same date as the original license in lieu of the license so surrendered. Appropriate fees therefor shall be established by the director.
13. a. No licensee qualified under the provisions of this act shall engage in the alarm business or in the practice of locksmithing services, unless the licensee:
(1) Maintains at least one business office within the State or files in the office of the director a statement, duly executed and sworn to before a person authorized by the laws of this State to administer oaths, containing a power of attorney constituting the director the true and lawful attorney of the licensee upon whom all original process in an action or legal proceeding against the licensee may be served and in which the licensee agrees that the original process that may be served upon the director shall be of the same force and validity as if served upon the licensee and that the authority thereof shall continue in force so long as the licensee engages in the alarm business or in the practice of locksmithing services, as the case may be, in this State;
(2) Clearly marks the outside of each installation and service vehicle to be used in conjunction with the alarm business with the alarm business name or the outside of each installation and service vehicle to be used in conjunction with locksmithing services with the locksmithing services name;
(3) Maintains an emergency service number attended to on a 24-hour basis and responds appropriately to emergencies on a 24-hour basis when engaged in the alarm business; and
(4) Retains at all times general liability insurance in an amount determined by the director and insurance coverage or a surety bond in favor of the State of New Jersey in the sum of $1,000, executed by a surety company authorized to transact business in the State of New Jersey and which is approved by the Department of Insurance, and which is to be conditioned on the faithful performance of the provisions of this act. The director shall by rule or regulation provide who shall be eligible to receive the financial protection afforded by such bond and the bond shall be in full force and effect for the term of the license issued.
b. Except in the case of an employee licensed as a locksmith or locksmith apprentice, no licensed locksmith or locksmith apprentice shall engage in locksmithing services unless that licensee maintains at least one business office within the State.
14. No person shall be employed by a licensee to install, service or maintain a burglar alarm, fire alarm or electronic security system or, except in the case of a licensee, shall otherwise engage in the installation, service or maintenance thereof;
a. Unless the person is of good moral character; and
b. Where the work is to be performed other than under the field supervision of a licensee or a person qualified pursuant to the provisions of this section, unless the person shall have at least three years of practical experience and shall have successfully completed a course of study or a competency examination prescribed by the director, in consultation with the committee; except that an employee employed in the installation, servicing or maintenance of burglar alarm, fire alarm or electronic security systems by a license applicant filing an application within 120 days of the operative date of this act and identified as an employee on the application, shall not be required to satisfy the competency requirements of this subsection, until the first renewal of the employee's identification card.
15. Within 14 days of employing a person in connection with an alarm business or as a locksmith or locksmith apprentice, a licensee shall notify the director and shall provide him with the employee's photograph, in passport size, fingerprints of the employee's two hands taken on standard fingerprint cards by a State or municipal law enforcement agency, a list of all criminal offenses, supplied by the employee, of which the employee has been convicted, setting forth the date and place of each conviction, and the name under which the employee was convicted, if other than that given in the written notification to the director, and, if the work of the employee is not to be directly supervised, evidence of practical experience and professional competence in accordance with the requirements of subsection b. of section 14 of this act.
If a licensee knowingly falsifies any information required by the director, the licensee shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree and shall have his license revoked therefor by the director.
After confirming the information provided on an employee with the Division of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety and conducting such other investigations as may be necessary, the director shall, if he determines that an employee who is subject to the requirements of section 14 of this act and who fails to satisfy those requirements, advise the licensee forthwith of the employee's unfitness and require immediate termination of employment. The director is authorized to exchange fingerprint data with and receive criminal history record information from the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for use in making the determinations required by this act. The employer shall bear the cost for the criminal history record check pursuant to this section. Employees hired by an alarm business through a recognized trade union on a temporary basis not to exceed six months or one project, whichever is greater, are exempt from the requirements of this section.
16. Every licensee and every employee or other person engaged in the unsupervised installation, servicing or maintenance of burglar alarm, fire alarm or electronic security systems shall, at all times during working hours, display an identification card issued by the director. The identification card shall contain the following information:
a. The name, photograph and signature of the person to whom the card has been issued;
b. The business name and address and license number of the licensee;
c. The expiration date of the card; and
d. Such other information as the director deems appropriate for identification purposes.
17. Identification cards shall be issued for a three-year period which, in the case of a licensee, shall correspond to the term of the license period of the licensee. Application for renewal of an identification card for other than a licensee shall be made by the person named on the card at least 45 days prior to the expiration date of the card. The information provided on the identification card shall at all times be current, and the named holder of the card shall advise the director of any changes and file for issuance of an updated card within five days following occurrence of a change, which card shall be issued for the unexpired term of the original card.
Identification cards shall not be transferable in the event of a change in employment.
The director shall prescribe the manner of, and the forms and fees for filing for identification cards.
18. A licensee shall be responsible for any unlawful or unprofessional conduct by an employee, except that the conduct shall not be a cause for suspension or revocation of a license, unless the director determines that the licensee had knowledge thereof, or there is shown to have existed a pattern of unlawful or unprofessional conduct.
19. A licensee engaged in the alarm business shall maintain, on a form prescribed by the director, a record of the name and address of each purchaser of a burglar alarm, fire alarm or electronic security system that was installed by the licensee, where it was installed, the name and business address of the licensee, and other information required by the director. These records shall be maintained by the licensee for a period of time determined by the director by regulation.
20. a. Any licensed locksmith who knowingly and willfully opens any locking or security devices for another by any method, whether or not for compensation, shall obtain the street address of the residence or commercial establishment, and the signature of the person for whom the residence or commercial establishment was opened, on a work order form, and shall include the following information regarding the person requesting entry to the residence or commercial property: name, address, telephone number, date of birth, and driver's license number or other identification. A copy of each work order shall be retained by the locksmith, or in the case that the locksmith is an employee, by the business firm employing the locksmith, for three years, and shall include the name and permit number of the licensed locksmith performing the service, and shall be available for inspection by any law enforcement officer or by the director during business hours, or submitted to the Division of Fire Safety upon request.
b. Any licensed locksmith who opens a motor vehicle or personal property registered under the vehicle code for another by any method, whether or not for compensation, shall obtain the name, address, telephone number, if any, and driver's license number or other identification of the person requesting entrance, and the registration number of the vehicle or personal property, registered under the vehicle code for which entrance is requested. This information, along with the date the service was performed, and the signature of the person requesting entrance, shall be set forth on a work order. A copy of each work order form shall be retained for three years by the locksmith, or by the business firm employing the locksmith if the locksmith is an employee. The work order form shall include the name and permit number of the licensed locksmith performing the service, and shall be available for inspection by any law enforcement officer or by the director upon request.
21. The director may refuse to admit a person to examination, or may refuse to issue, or may suspend or revoke any license or employee's identification card issued under this act, or may impose alternative penalties or pursue any civil remedy, if the applicant, licensee, or holder of an employee's identification card:
a. Has obtained a license or employee's identification card, or authorization to sit for an examination, as the case may be, through fraud, deception or misrepresentation;
b. Has engaged in the use or employment of dishonesty, fraud, deception, misrepresentation, false promise or false pretense;
c. Has engaged in gross negligence, gross malpractice or gross incompetence;
d. Has engaged in repeated acts of negligence, malpractice or incompetence;
e. Has engaged in occupational misconduct as defined in regulations promulgated pursuant to this act;
f. Has been convicted of any crime relating adversely to his activities in an alarm business or as a locksmith or locksmith apprentice. For the purpose of this subsection a plea of guilty, non vult, nolo contendere or any similar disposition of alleged criminal activity is deemed a conviction;
g. Has had his authority to engage in the activities of an alarm business or as a locksmith or locksmith apprentice revoked or suspended by any other state, agency or authority for reasons consistent with this section;
h. Has violated or failed to comply with the provisions of any act or regulation administered by the director;
i. Is incapable, for medical or any other good cause, of discharging the functions of a licensee or holder of any employee's identification card in a manner consistent with the public health, safety and welfare; or
j. Has violated any of the provisions of this act, including permitting a license or identification card to be used by another person.
22. Whenever it shall appear to the director that a person has engaged in, or is engaging in any act or practice declared unlawful by this act or a regulation promulgated pursuant to this act, or when the director shall deem it to be in the public interest to inquire whether any violation may exist, the director may exercise any of the following investigative powers:
a. Require any person to file on such form as may be prescribed, a statement or report in writing under oath, or otherwise, as to the facts and circumstances concerning the rendition of any service or conduct, or to the discharge of any act or practice subject to this act or a regulation promulgated pursuant to it by the director;
b. Examine under oath any person in connection with any act or practice subject to this act or a regulation promulgated pursuant to it by the director;
c. Inspect any premises from which an alarm business or locksmithing services is conducted;
d. Examine any goods, ware or item used in the rendition of an alarm business or in the practice of locksmithing services;
e. Examine any record, book, document, account or paper maintained by or for an alarm or locksmithing services business or licensee regulated under this act in the regular course of that business;
f. For the purpose of preserving evidence of an unlawful act or practice, pursuant to an order of the Superior Court, Law Division, impound any record, book, document, account, paper, goods, ware, or item used or maintained by or for any licensee regulated under this act or alarm or locksmithing services business in the regular course of that business. In such cases as may be necessary, the Superior Court, Law Division may, on application of the director, issue an order sealing items or materials subject to this subsection.
In order to accomplish the objectives of this act or any regulation promulgated pursuant to this act, the director may hold such investigative hearings as may be necessary and may issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of any person or the production of books, records or papers of any person, or the production of books, records or papers at any hearing or inquiry.
23. If any person fails or refuses to file any statement or report or refuses access to premises from which an alarm business or locksmithing services is conducted in any lawfully conducted investigative matter or fails to obey a subpoena issued pursuant to this act, the director may apply to the Superior Court, Law Division and obtain an order:
a. Adjudging the person in contempt of court;
b. Granting other relief as may be required; or
c. Suspending the license or identification card of the person until compliance with the subpoena or investigative demand is affected.
24. If any person refuses to testify or produce any book, paper, or other document in any proceeding under this act for the reason that the testimony or evidence, documentary or otherwise, required of him may tend to incriminate him, convict him of a crime, or subject him to a penalty or forfeiture, and shall, notwithstanding, be directed to testify or to produce the book, paper or document by the director, he shall comply with the direction. No action shall be taken by the director pursuant to this section without the approval of the Attorney General.
A person who is entitled by law to, and does assert his privilege not to testify or respond, and who complies with the direction of the director shall not thereafter be prosecuted or subjected to any penalty or forfeiture in any criminal proceeding which arises out of and relates to the subject matter of the proceeding. No person so testifying is exempt from prosecution or punishment for perjury or false swearing committed by him in giving testimony or from any civil or administrative action arising from the testimony.
25. In addition or as an alternative, as the case may be, to revoking, suspending or refusing to renew any license or employee's identification card, the director may, after affording an opportunity to be heard:
a. Issue a letter of warning, reprimand or censure with regard to any act, conduct or practice which in the judgment of the director does not warrant the initiation of formal action;
b. Assess civil penalties in accordance with this act;
c. Order any person violating any provision of this act or a regulation promulgated pursuant to it, to cease and desist from future violations thereof or to take such affirmative corrective action as may be necessary with regard to any act or practice found unlawful by the director;
d. Order any person found to have violated any provision of this act or a regulation promulgated pursuant to it, to restore to any person aggrieved by an unlawful act or practice, any moneys or property, real or personal, acquired by means of that act or practice; except that no restoration shall be ordered in a dollar amount greater than those moneys received by a licensee, alarm business, or its agent or any other person violating this act or regulation promulgated pursuant to it;
e. Order any person, as a condition of continued, reinstated or renewed licensure or use of an identification card, to secure medical or other professional treatment which may be necessary to properly discharge the functions of a licensee or holder of an identification card.
The director may, upon a duly verified complaint alleging an act or practice violating any provision of this act or a regulation promulgated pursuant to it, enter a temporary order suspending or limiting any license or identification card pending a plenary hearing on an administrative complaint; except that no temporary order may be entered unless the complaint demonstrates a clear and imminent danger to the public health, safety and welfare and notice of the complaint is given to the licensee or holder of the identification card affected by the order.
In any administrative proceeding commenced on a complaint alleging a violation of this act or a regulation promulgated pursuant to it, the director may issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of books, records or documents at the hearing on the complaint.
26. Any person violating any provision of this act or a regulation administered pursuant to it, in addition to any other sanctions provided in this act, is liable to a civil penalty of not more than $2,500 for the first offense and not more than $5,000 for each subsequent offense. For the purpose of construing this section, each transaction or statutory violation shall constitute a separate offense; except that a second or subsequent offense is not deemed to exist unless an administrative or court order has been entered in a prior, separate, and independent proceeding. In lieu of an administrative proceeding or an action in Superior Court, Law Division, the director may bring an action for the collection or enforcement of civil penalties for the violation of any provisions of this act or a regulation promulgated pursuant to it. The action may be brought in summary manner pursuant to "the penalty enforcement law," N.J.S.2A:58-1 et seq. and the rules of court governing actions for the collection of civil penalties in the municipal court or the Superior Court where the offense occurred. Process in the action may be by summons or warrant and if the defendant in the action fails to answer the action, the court shall, upon finding an unlawful act or practice to have been committed by the defendant, issue a warrant for the defendant's arrest in order to bring the person before the court to satisfy the civil penalties imposed. In any action commenced pursuant to this section, the court may order restored to any person in interest any moneys or property acquired by means of an unlawful act or practice. In any action brought pursuant to this act, the director or the court, as appropriate, may order the payment of costs for the use of the State.
27. A licensee or holder of an employee's identification card shall surrender a suspended or revoked license or card to the director within 72 hours following receipt of a written or personal notice to do so.
28. The director, after consultation with the committee, shall require each person licensed as a locksmith, as a condition of triennial registration pursuant to subsection d. of section 10 of this act, to complete 40 credits of continuing locksmith education during each triennial registration period.
29. a. The director, after consultation with the committee, shall:
(1) Establish standards for continuing locksmith education, including the subject matter and content of courses of study;
(2) Approve educational programs offering credit for continuing locksmith education; and
(3) Approve other equivalent educational programs, including, but not limited to, components offered by appropriate professional locksmith organizations and manufacturers of locksmith products recognized by the director, and shall establish procedures for the issuance of credit upon satisfactory proof of the completion of these programs.
b. In the case of education courses and programs, each hour of instruction shall be equivalent to one credit.
30. The director, after consultation with the advisory committee, shall:
a. Establish procedures for monitoring compliance with the continuing locksmith education requirements provided in this act; and
b. Establish procedures to evaluate and grant approval to providers of continuing locksmith education.
31. No municipality or county shall enact an ordinance or resolution or promulgate any rules or regulations relating to the licensing or registration of alarm businesses. The provisions of any ordinance or resolution or rules or regulations of any municipality or county relating to the licensing or registration of an alarm business are superseded by the provisions of this act. Nothing in this section shall be construed, however, to prohibit municipal regulation of door-to-door vendors or sales persons of burglar alarm, fire alarm or electronic security systems nor shall anything in this section be construed to prohibit or restrict municipal consideration of alarm business service proposals in consent proceedings under the "Cable Television Act," P.L.1972, c.186 (C.48:5A-1 et seq.).
32. a. Telephone utilities and cable television companies regulated by the Board of Regulatory Commissioners pursuant to Title 48 of the Revised Statutes and persons in their employ while performing the duties of their employment are exempt from the requirement of obtaining a license to engage in the alarm business pursuant to this act. b. Electrical contractors regulated by the Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors pursuant to P.L.1962, c.162 (C.45:5A-1 et seq.) and persons in their employ while performing the duties of their employment are exempt from the requirement of obtaining a license to engage in the alarm business pursuant to this act.
33. If the director, after consultation with the committee, determines that an applicant holds a valid license from another jurisdiction which requires equal or greater experience and knowledge requirements, the director may accept evidence of that license as meeting the experience and knowledge requirements of this act for a person engaged in the alarm business or in the practice of locksmithing services.
34. There is appropriated from the General Fund the sum of $25,000 to the Division of Fire Safety of the Department of Community Affairs to implement the provisions of this act.
35. This act shall take effect immediately but shall remain inoperative for 120 days following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for the licensing and regulation of locksmiths, burglar and fire alarm, and electronic security businesses by the Director of the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs and appropriates $25,000 from the General Fund to the division for that purpose.
Provides for regulation of locksmiths, and burglar, fire alarm and electronic security businesses; appropriates $25,000.