 |
April 17, 2006 |
||
The New Hampshire Alarm Association (NHAA) has asked for our assistance to urge your immediate communication to their State Senate to oppose HB 1595 or any other similar bill up for a decision this coming Thursday, April 20 on the floor of the State Senate. HB 1595 was originally introduced in the New Hampshire State House as a “voluntary” low-voltage electronic systems licensing and certification bill, but was amended to be a mandatory licensing bill and sent over to their State Senate. Most all of the low-voltage installation community was excluded from the deliberation of this bill, which was originally sponsored by CEDIA and NSCA. NHAA and NBFAA have consistently urged opposition to this legislation. Neither NHAA nor NBFAA is opposed to licensing; what we are opposed to are the exclusionary tactics used to develop this legislation. The New Hampshire Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee voted to report HB 1595 to the State Senate with a recommendation to do an “Interim Study” of the licensing of electronic systems technicians. We are urging you to voice opposition to this Committee recommendation, and any bill supported by CEDIA and NSCA to study the licensing of low-voltage electronic system technicians in the state. No legislation in this regard should pass this session as it continues to be exclusionary and the study could result in adverse impacts for the industry going into the 2007 New Hampshire legislature. For those of you who do business in New Hampshire, we need your assistance. Please send a letter to the committee expressing your opposition to HB 1595. A sample letter and committee contacts are available here (Word doc). Please copy David Dionne of the NHAA (dave.dionne@mammothfire.com) for coordination purposes and NBFAA Director of Government Relations, John Chwat (gov.info@alarm.org or Fax (703) 684-7594), on all communications. Thank you for your cooperation in this request. Working together, we can develop a “good bill” for the industry in New Hampshire. We will be facing this same issue in other states, so it is important for all of us to band together and express our opposition to any bill which excludes our members during the consideration and creation of legislation, which is what we are faced with today in New Hampshire.
|
|||