(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. (2) "Alarm system contractor" means a person who installs, maintains, monitors, alters, or services an alarm system. (3) (i) "Alarm user" means a person in control of an alarm system in, on, or around any building, structure, facility, or site. (ii) "Alarm user" includes the owner or lessee of an alarm system. (4) (i) "False alarm" means any request for immediate assistance by a law enforcement agency or fire department or, in Washington County, an emergency services agency, regardless of cause, that is not in response to an actual emergency situation or threatened or suggested criminal activity. (ii) "False alarm" includes: 1. a negligently or accidentally activated signal; 2. a signal that is the result of faulty, malfunctioning, or improperly installed or maintained equipment; 3. a signal that is purposely activated to summon a law enforcement agency or fire department or, in Washington County, an emergency services agency, in a nonemergency situation; 4. the second and any later signal from an alarm system that is activated two or more times in a 12-hour period when the premises are unoccupied if access to the building is provided to an alarm system contractor and an alarm system contractor responds; and 5. the third or any later signal from an alarm system that is activated two or more times in a 12-hour period when the premises are unoccupied if access to the building is not provided to an alarm system contractor and an alarm system contractor does not respond. (iii) "False alarm" does not include: 1. a signal activated by unusually severe weather conditions or other causes beyond the control of the alarm user or alarm system contractor; or 2. a signal activated during the initial 60-day period following new installation. (b) This section applies only to Calvert County, Frederick County, and Washington County. (c) (1) The governing body of a county may adopt regulations to: (i) register alarm system contractors operating in the county; (ii) register alarm users in the county; (iii) provide penalties for failure to register as an alarm system contractor or alarm user; (iv) provide civil citations and penalties for false alarms, notwithstanding Title 9, Subtitle 6, Part II of the Criminal Law Article; (v) provide exemptions from the issuance of civil citations and penalties for false alarms; (vi) authorize the designated county enforcement agency to maintain a record of the alarm system contractor, monitoring service, and manufacturer of each security system in operation in the county; and (vii) authorize the designated county enforcement agency, if it finds a pattern of false alarms attributed to a particular manufacturer's model or to installation by a particular alarm system contractor, to inform: 1. the manufacturer of the model or the alarm system contractor that installed the alarm system; and 2. the appropriate State or national licensing agency or the certification standards entity. (2) The County Commissioners of Washington County may adopt regulations to establish fees for registering an alarm system contractor or alarm user.
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