Businesses would be allowed to install electric security systems

Businesses authorized to operate in Pennsylvania and sole proprietors would be allowed to install electric security systems that meet these rules. The permission would cover outdoor, battery-powered systems that deliver electric pulses and include a monitored alarm. The property could not be designated by a local government exclusively for residential use. Fences used mainly to contain animals would be excluded. The act also would not cover alarms unattached to a security system capable of delivering electric pulses. The act would take effect immediately if enacted.

Electric security systems would have to meet rules for power, alarm monitoring, placement, height, and warning signs. These rules would cover the outdoor electric security systems allowed by the act. Their alarms would signal the installer or a person monitoring the alarm or instructed to notify a public safety agency. The device delivering pulses would run on a commercial storage battery of no more than 12 volts direct current. The system would sit four to eight inches behind a barrier that is not electrified. Its total height would be 10 feet or two feet above that barrier, whichever is greater. Signs with the international electric-shock warning symbol would appear no more than 30 feet apart. These requirements would take effect immediately if enacted.

Installers would notify local governments, which could require alarm registration and prohibit systems that fail to meet the bill’s requirements. Installers would notify the local government that the system had been installed under the act’s requirements. The notice would name the alarm installation company and the business and give the installation address. These duties and local powers would take effect immediately if enacted.