New York to fine alarm companies for false alarms if bill signed by governor – is this a good idea June 30 2025

        What am I talking about?  NY has pending legislation that apparently was championed by ADT and NYELSA [New York alarm assoc] dealing with false alarms.  I suspect if this is actually signed by NY’s governor it’s going to cause more trouble than those in the alarm industry expect.  What I am specifically concerned about is the language permitting fines against alarm companies for false alarms.  Here is the troublesome language:                    

“69-vvv. Fines for false alarms.  1.    Notwithstanding  any  other    16  provision  of  law, a municipality may enact, adopt or enforce any ordinance, resolution or regulation requiring any alarm  system  company  to  pay  for  or be responsible for any fines, fees or other penalties relative to false alarms only when the false alarm is attributed to a  deficiency  in  the  alarm system or an error of the alarm system company or central station.  Nothing in this section shall prevent a municipality from imposing any fine, fee or other penalties for a false alarm when such false alarm is attributable to, or caused by, the property owner, lessee, occupant or other person or persons.” [bold emphasis added]

         Someone, preferably someone who thinks this bill is a good idea, please tell me how we are going to determine that the false alarm:

• is attributed to a  deficiency  in  the  alarm system, which, by the way, is the fault of the alarm company,

•  or an error of the alarm system company or central station

       Tell me, if I don’t get to my panel in time and the alarm goes off, is that a deficiency in the alarm system?  Maybe it should have been timed giving me more time.
       What if the panel isn’t working properly and the keypad doesn’t light up or let me turn off the system?  What if I knew about intermittent problems but delayed calling for service or was still waiting for service?
         What if someone bangs on window and sets off the alarm, leaves and is not there when the police arrive; is that a false alarm?
         What if a bug sets off a motion detector or wire disconnects?
         What if - who knows what – but stuff you guys see everyday while servicing alarms, happens?
        Here’s how the new proposed law defines a false alarm:

        “7. "False alarm" means the activation of any alarm system that results in a request for police or fire or other emergency for which the responding public safety agency finds no evidence of criminal activity, fire, or emergency.”

        So who decides if the alarm company should get fined?  Apparently it’s the “the responding public safety agency finds no evidence of criminal activity, fire, or emergency”.  Good luck fighting that fine.
        Why did we need this law in New York?  I have not heard from a single client in New York complaining about a false alarm fine assessed against it.  I have also not heard from an alarm company in any state complain about a false alarm fine.   Permit fines, yes.  False alarms, no.
         This new legislation will encourage local municipalities to enact a fine structure against alarm companies.  Enforcement against central stations will be interesting to watch.  There is no license required to monitor alarms in New York, so a central station does not need to have a license to monitor in NY.  They may have registered to do business in NY, but that is not required either.          
What those who supported this bill should have pushed for is a law limiting fines to the alarm owner, the end user, which I believe is how it works just about everywhere else.
        How alarm companies will react to the fine is another matter.  If the alarm company has a K&K Standard Form Agreement, and many if not most alarm companies do use those agreements, the subscriber is required to indemnify the alarm company.  So, pay the fine and tack it onto the next invoice to the subscriber.  Let’s see how that works out.