Security industry wins major fix in new law

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. security industry has won a major fix in a 4-year-old law that restricted its operations because of a blanket rule designed to satisfy energy efficiency standards.

A coalition of various organizations led by the Security Industry Association fought for the correction since the Energy Independence and Security Act came into effect in 2007.

Last week the bill passed through the U.S. Senate and is now with President Barack Obama for signature, following which it becomes law.

The industry campaigned for the text to be fixed as part of a "common sense" measure to rectify an error that the industry saw as restrictive to its business activities.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 requires electronic devices to meet certain efficiency standards while in "no-load" mode. SIA argues the law was written in such a way that the requirements apply even to security and life safety devices -- such as video surveillance, intrusion detection and access control systems -- even though such equipment must always be in "active" mode.

To correct this, SIA pulled together a coalition that contains both industry and environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, to draft legislative language and push for a correction.

Bills were introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate containing the coalition-drafted language and the Senate last Tuesday unanimously approved H.R. 5470 from Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., that would provide an exemption from the "no-load" requirements for security and life safety products while retaining EISA's "active" mode efficiency standards for those devices.

The House passed the bill Dec. 8, so the bill will become law when Obama signs it. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., led the effort in the Senate to enact the measure.

"This has been one of our top priorities for nearly 2 1/2 years," said SIA Director of Government Relations Don Erickson. He thanked Bingaman, Pallone and Blunt for their "extraordinary efforts to pass this common sense legislation that is both good for business and environmentally responsible."

Erickson said SIA took the leadership role that in developing consensus on the issue among groups with diverse interests.

In addition to SIA and the NRDC, the bill is supported by the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Appliance Standards Awareness Project and the Electronic Security Association. SIA is the leading trade group for businesses in the electronic and physical security market.

SIA says it is creating open industry standards that enable integration, advancing industry professionalism through education and training, opening global market opportunities and providing sole sponsorship of the ISC Expos, the world's largest security trade shows and conferences.