Legislative Report June 2021
Here are highlights of legislative activity that could impact the electronic security and life safety industry.
Federal Legislative Summary – June 2021
Congress was busy in June, but not much happened. The wrangling over infrastructure and what should be included in the plan continues. President Biden thought a deal was reached, then Republicans recoiled at his initial comment that the “deal” wouldn’t happen without passage of his “American Jobs Plan”. After he backed away from those comments, some Democrats said they would support the infrastructure plan without the additional $4-6 Trillion they want in their version of infrastructure. At the end of the day, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) made it clear he was not going to vote for progressive plan calling for $4-6 trillion, thus ending any hope of passing the bill through budget reconciliation, for the time being.
Other bills in Congress we are watching include H.R. 3661, which would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require silent alarms in elementary schools and secondary schools.
Another bill that would ban the use of biometric technology for law enforcement purposes without explicit authorization and withhold federal funding of certain grants to states that allow biometric surveillance was introduced on June 15, 2021. S. 2052, the “Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act” was introduced by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA).
Download the Members-Only Federal Legislative Report
State Legislative Summary – June 2021
As expected, we saw a large number of bills enacted in June as many legislatures ended their sessions. There were 31 bills enacted in June and another 11 that were sent to the Governor. Several of these bills will be favorable to member businesses either through vertical market opportunities, licensing or tax benefits.
Some of the bills worth noting in this report include Florida HB 149, which provides for placement of video cameras in specified classrooms where students with disabilities are located.
Connecticut SB 975 will affirm that residents of long-term care facilities have the right to treat their living quarters as their homes and have the same rights as all other state residents, including the right to use technology of their choice for purposes, including, but not limited to, virtual visitation and file grievances for violations of their rights.
Texas H.B. 3571 will prohibit homeowner associations from adopting or enforcing restrictive covenants that prevent property owners from building or installing security measures including security cameras, motion detectors or perimeter fencing on their property with certain limitations.
With this new legislative tracking platform, you can quickly sort through bills by issues, state, stance, or latest action date. We hope you will take full advantage of the flexibility that it provides.
