Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:379 Ratification Number:410 Act Number:360 Primary Sponsor:Mullinax Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Fire alarm system business Date Bill Passed both Bodies:Apr 29, 1992 Computer Document Number:379 Governor's Action:S Date of Governor's Action:May 04, 1992 Introduced Date:Jan 08, 1991 Date of Last Amendment:Apr 28, 1992 Last History Body:------ Last History Date:May 04, 1992 Last History Type:Act No. 360 Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Mullinax Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN
---- ------ ------------ ------------------------------ ---
379 ------ May 04, 1992 Act No. 360
379 ------ May 04, 1992 Signed by Governor
379 ------ Apr 30, 1992 Ratified R 410
379 Senate Apr 29, 1992 Concurred in House amendment,
enrolled for ratification
379 House Apr 29, 1992 Read third time, returned
with amendment
379 House Apr 28, 1992 Amended, read second time
379 House Apr 28, 1992 Objection by Representative
379 House Apr 21, 1992 Debate adjourned until
Tuesday, April 28, 1992
379 House Apr 02, 1992 Committee Report: Favorable 26
with amendment
379 House Apr 30, 1991 Introduced, read first time, 26
referred to Committee
379 Senate Apr 25, 1991 Read third time, sent to House
379 Senate Apr 23, 1991 Amended, read second time
379 Senate Apr 18, 1991 Committee Report: Favorable 12
with amendment
379 Senate Jan 08, 1991 Introduced and read first 12
time, referred to Committee
379 Senate Dec 10, 1990 Prefiled, referred to 12
Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
(A360, R410, S379)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 40-79-145 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT PERSONS OR BUSINESSES LICENSED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 79 OF TITLE 40 (REGULATION OF BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEM BUSINESSES) ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION ARE AUTHORIZED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FIRE ALARM BUSINESS WITHOUT PASSING AN ADDITIONAL EXAMINATION OR PAYING AN ADDITIONAL FEE; TO AMEND SECTION 40-11-20, RELATING TO THE STATE LICENSING BOARD FOR CONTRACTORS, SO AS TO ADD ONE ADDITIONAL MEMBER TO THE BOARD WHO SHALL HAVE AS THE LARGER PART OF HIS BUSINESS THE INSTALLATION, SERVICING, OR RESPONDING TO BURGLAR OR FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS, OR BOTH; TO AMEND SECTION 40-11-70, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO MEETINGS OF THE STATE LICENSING BOARD FOR CONTRACTORS, SO AS TO INCREASE FROM FOUR TO FIVE THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS WHICH CONSTITUTE A QUORUM; TO AMEND SECTION 40-11-240, RELATING TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE LICENSING BOARD FOR CONTRACTORS TO REVOKE THE BIDDER'S OR CONTRACTOR'S LICENSE OF A GENERAL OR MECHANICAL CONTRACTOR FOUND GUILTY OF ANY FRAUD OR DECEIT IN OBTAINING A LICENSE, OR OF GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR INCOMPETENCE IN THE PRACTICE OF HIS PROFESSION, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO REVOKE A CONTRACTOR'S LICENSE FOR SUBSTANDARD WORK, GROSS NEGLIGENCE, OR INCOMPETENCE WITH RESPECT TO THE INSTALLATION OF FIRE OR BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEMS; TO AMEND SECTION 40-11-260, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE LICENSING BOARD FOR CONTRACTORS TO REISSUE A LICENSE TO ANY PERSON WHOSE LICENSE HAS BEEN REVOKED, SO AS TO INCREASE FROM FOUR TO FIVE THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARD REQUIRED TO VOTE TO REISSUE A LICENSE; AND TO AMEND SECTION 40-79-10 AND SECTIONS 40-79-30, 40-79-50, AND 40-79-140, ALL AS AMENDED, ALL RELATING TO THE "SOUTH CAROLINA REGULATION OF BURGLAR ALARM SYSTEM BUSINESSES ACT OF 1986", SO AS TO INCLUDE FIRE ALARM SYSTEM BUSINESSES WITHIN THE REGULATION AND LICENSING PROVISIONS OF THE ACT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Citation of chapter
SECTION 1. Section 40-79-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 40-79-10. This chapter is known and may be cited as the `South Carolina Regulation of Burglar and Fire Alarm System Businesses Act of 1986'."
Definitions
SECTION 2. Section 40-79-30 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 175 of 1987, is further amended to read:
"Section 40-79-30. (A) As used in this chapter, `burglar alarm system business' means any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation which installs, services, or responds to electrical, electronic, or mechanical alarm signal devices, burglar alarms, or fire alarms for a fee or other valuable consideration.
(B) The term `alarm system business' does not include:
(1) law enforcement officers, fire department personnel, or individuals who may respond to an alarm by happenstance such as neighbors or passers-by;
(2) a business or individual which or who merely sells or manufactures alarm systems unless the business services, installs, or responds to alarm systems at the protected premises;
(3) a person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation which merely owns and installs an alarm system on property owned or leased by itself;
(4) any `telephone utility' regulated under the provisions of Chapter 9 of Title 58 of the 1976 Code or FCC regulated carriers;
(5) installation or servicing of any alarm device which is installed in a motor vehicle, aircraft, or boat;
(6) a business or individual who merely sells, installs, or services battery-powered smoke detectors;
(7) an electrical contractor, licensed under Chapter 11 of Title 40.
(C) No county or municipality is prevented from requiring within its jurisdiction the registration of the alarm system businesses' names or the filing of copies of board licensure or from adopting an ordinance to require users of alarm systems to obtain permits when usage involves automatic signal transmission to a law enforcement agency or fire department."
Application
SECTION 3. Section 40-79-50(D) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 175 of 1987, is further amended to read:
"(D) Upon receipt of an application, the board shall cause a background investigation to be made during which the applicant is required to show that he meets all of the following requirements and qualifications which are prerequisite to obtaining a license:
(1) that he is at least eighteen years of age;
(2) that the applicant has no: conviction of any crime involving the illegal use, carrying, or possession of a firearm; conviction of any crime involving the illegal use, possession, sale, manufacture, distribution, or transportation of a controlled substance, drug, narcotic, or alcoholic beverage, except that the offense of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, as provided in Section 56-5-2930, must not be considered; conviction of a crime involving felonious assault or an act of violence; conviction of a crime involving unlawful breaking or entering, burglary, arson, or larceny; any offense involving moral turpitude; or a history of addiction to alcohol or a narcotic drug. `Conviction' means the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or a verdict rendered in open court by a judge or jury; and
(3) that he has the necessary qualifications as the board determines by regulation for the issuance of all licenses."
Board to provide business license
SECTION 4. Section 40-79-140 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 175 of 1987, is further amended to read:
"Section 40-79-140. (A) The board shall provide by regulation for an alarm system business license that permits the holder to participate in both the burglar and fire alarm system business. Applicants for the license successfully shall pass an oral or written examination considered by the board to measure an applicant's knowledge and competence in the burglar and fire alarm system businesses. Applicants shall provide the board with evidence of satisfactory completion of the National Institute For Certification In Engineering Technologies (NICET) Level III Fire Alarm Systems Engineering Technician's Competency Test. All fees associated with the NICET exam are the responsibility of the applicant.
(B) Applicants licensed by the board prior to July 1, 1992, by establishing to the board's satisfaction three years' experience within the immediately preceding five years in alarm system installation and service shall not be required to pass an examination as a condition of license renewal.
(C) The board by regulation may establish those other requirements for licensure as it considers necessary."
Grandfather clause - licensing
SECTION 5. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 40-79-145. Persons or businesses licensed by the board under the provisions of this chapter shall on the effective date of this section also be authorized to participate in the fire alarm business without passing an additional examination or paying an additional fee."
Revocation of license
SECTION 6. Section 40-11-240 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 40-11-240. The board may revoke the bidder's or contractor's license of any general or mechanical contractor licensed hereunder who is found guilty of any fraud or deceit in obtaining a license, or of gross negligence, incompetence, or misconduct in the practice of his profession. The board may also revoke a contractor's license for substandard work, gross negligence, or incompetence with respect to the installation of fire or burglar alarm systems. Any person may prefer charges of such fraud, deceit, negligence, or misconduct against any general or mechanical contractor licensed hereunder. Such charges shall be in writing and sworn to by the complainant and submitted to the secretary of the board."
Board increased
SECTION 7. Section 40-11-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 40-11-20. There is a State Licensing Board for Contractors, consisting of eight members, who must be appointed by the Governor. One member of the board shall have as the larger part of his business the construction of highways, one member shall have as the larger part of his business the construction of public utilities, one member shall have as the larger part of his business the construction of buildings, one member shall have as the larger part of his business the performance of heating, plumbing, or air-conditioning work, one member shall have as the larger part of his business the performance of electrical work, and one member shall have as the larger part of his business the installation, servicing, or responding to burglar or fire alarm systems, or both, and two consumer members must be appointed from the public at large. The members of the first board having been appointed for one, two, three, four, and five years, respectively, their terms of office expiring on the thirty-first day of December in each year, the Governor shall appoint a member to fill the vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of office of a member shall hold over after the expiration of the term until his successor is duly appointed and qualifies. If vacancies occur in the board for any cause, they must be filled by the appointment of the Governor. The Governor may remove any member of the board for misconduct, incompetency, or neglect of duty."
Meetings of board
SECTION 8. Section 40-11-70 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 396 of 1988, is further amended to read:
"Section 40-11-70. The board shall meet quarterly each year, once in April, January, July, and October for the purpose of transacting the business as may properly come before it. At the January meeting in each year the board shall elect officers. Special meetings may be held at such times as the board may provide in its bylaws. Notice of each meeting and the time and place of it must be given to each member in the manner the bylaws provide. Five members of the board shall constitute a quorum."
Reissuance of license
SECTION 9. Section 40-11-260 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 61 of 1989, is further amended to read:
"Section 40-11-260. The board may reissue a license to any person whose license has been revoked if five or more members of the board vote in favor of such reissuance for reasons the board may deem sufficient."
Time effective
SECTION 10. This act takes effect January 1, 1993.
Approved the 4th day of May, 1992.