January 2016 NCISS Monthly Report from Lobbyit

In This Issue

Stakeholder Activity

Legislation

In the month of January, Lobbyit focused on learning from target Members and staff what we can expect from the committees of jurisdiction in 2016, spoke with the Senate Commerce Committee about unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone) regulation, and arranged a call with the association representing national credit agencies to discuss difficulties private investigators are having in acquiring credit histories (call to take place first week of February).

State Legislation Advocacy Monitoring (SLAM)

Lobbyit has set up NCISS's "state-level" tracking, continues to identify hundreds of bills in 30 active states. The most important, by state, are below.

To view bills impacting private investigators, private patrol operators, or security guards in your state, go to w ww.NCISS.org to the Advocacy Hub (direct link http://goo.gl/QSCcgc) and follow the State Legislation link (direct link http://goo.gl/RPcv0W).

You can search alphabetically by State or click on your state on the United States map provided at the top of the page (current example above). If your state is not listed, it means that your state was either not in session or there were no bills introduced that met our search parameters. If you know of a bill in your state that we need to become aware, please contact your Regional Director.

Stakeholder Activity

Congress returned to DC in January after the long holiday break to get their respective Houses in order and embark on the second half of the 114th Congressional session. As we discussed in our previous dispatch, this year will likely be heavily influenced by the upcoming presidential election, meaning that Congress will likely generate a significant amount of heat (mostly in the form of hot air), but not much light - think of the 100 watt incandescent bulb.

Priority Issue - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Despite this prescription for inaction, Congress will be busy. The Senate Commerce Committee, for instance, will be addressing the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If Chairman Thune is to be believed (and we suggest he should be), there is a strong likelihood that FAA reauthorization will include sections addressing drone regulation.

The focus at this point is keeping UAVs out of sensitive airspace, including defense and energy installations, as well as airports. One idea under current consideration is "geofencing," or a software system preventing drones from such areas, or which generate a warning to operators of they approach such areas. From our discussions with staff, Congress is receptive to this idea of it proves technically feasible. They observe that geofencing is already being actively employed by some upmarket UAV versions, so a blanket requirement may make sense if not cost prohibitive.

Chairman Thune has also indicated that Congress "will have the last word" on the drone registry currently operated by the FAA.

FAA's current authorization expires at the end of March, so it remains to be seen whether the Committee can complete its work by this date. Legislation providing for a short-term extension is currently being discussed.

The Promise and Peril of Federal Drone Regulation

As NCISS members well know (or as a cursory review of proposed state statutes in our state leg sweep would reveal), many of the various states are active in regulating UAVs, some very harshly. In American constitutional law, states are typically free to regulate most things beyond the Federal floor, i.e. states can go further than Federal law, if in the same direction.

In the case of aviation, however, we might be looking at a clear case of field pre-emption. In cases where Federal regulation has "occupied the field," states must essentially bow to the Federal structure, and are not free to legislate or regulate the target industry or issue beyond the Federal design.

In Northwest Airlines,Inc. v. Minnesota, 322 U.S. 292, 303 (1944) The U.S Supreme Court held that "[f]ederal control is intensive and exclusive. Planes do not wander about in the sky like vagrant clouds. They move only by federal permission, subject to federal inspection, in the hands of federally certified personnel and under an intricate system of federal commands. The moment a ship taxis into a runway, it is caught up in an elaborate and detailed system of controls."

Moreover, aviation statutes specifically state that "[t]he United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States." 49 U.S.C. 40103(a)(1). The very same statute also specifically gives the federal government the authority to establish rules and regulations "for the use of navigable airspace." 49 U.S.C. 40103(b).

Consequently, if the FAA and Congress can get UAV regulation correct, much of the pressure caused by the various state restriction might be at once alleviated, in that a host of already-passed state restrictions could be summarily invalidated.

Lobbyit and NCISS will be working hard to make sure that the Federal UAV regulatory structure recognizes the necessities of our industry.

Legislation

S 177 -- Data Security and Breach Notification Act

Official Title: A bill to protect consumers by requiring reasonable security policies and procedures to protect data containing personal information, and to provide for nationwide notice in the event of a breach of security.

S 237 -- Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to specify the circumstances in which a person may acquire geolocation information and for other purposes.

S 288 -- National Labor Relations Board Reform Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to reform the National Labor Relations Board, the Office of the General Counsel, and the process for appellate review, and for other purposes.

S 356 -- Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act

Official Title: A bill to improve the provisions relating to the privacy of electronic communications.

S 407 -- Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act

Official Title: A bill to regulate large capacity ammunition feeding devices.

S 498 -- Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act

Official Title: A bill to allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms.

S 512 -- The Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to safeguard data stored abroad from improper government access, and for other purposes.

S 668 -- Data Broker Accountability and Transparency Act

Official Title: A bill to require data brokers to establish procedures to ensure the accuracy of collected personal information, and for other purposes.

S 740

Official Title: A bill to improve the coordination and use of geospatial data.

S 754 -- Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act

Official Title: An original bill to improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats, and for other purposes.

S 801

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to provide for appropriate designation of collective bargaining units.

S 1023

Official Title: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide a refundable credit for costs associated with Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations.

S 1027 -- Data Breach Notification and Punishing Cyber Criminals Act

Official Title: A bill to require notification of information security breaches and to enhance penalties for cyber criminals, and for other purposes.

S 1123

Official Title: A bill to reform the authorities of the Federal Government to require the production of certain business records, conduct electronic surveillance, use pen registers and trap and trace devices, and use other forms of information gathering for foreign intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal purposes, and for other purposes.

S 1158

Official Title: A bill to ensure the privacy and security of sensitive personal information, to prevent and mitigate identity theft, to provide notice of security breaches involving sensitive personal information, and to enhance law enforcement assistance and other protections against security breaches, fraudulent access, and misuse of personal information.

S 1520

Official Title: A bill to protect victims of stalking from violence.

S 1559 -- Pet and Women Safety Act

Official Title: A bill to protect victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence from emotional and psychological trauma caused by acts of violence or threats of violence against their pets.

S 1759 -- Phone Scam Prevention Act

Official Title: A bill to prevent caller ID spoofing, and for other purposes.

HR 47

Official Title: A bill to ensure secure gun storage and gun safety devices.

HR 491 -- Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to specify the circumstances in which a person may acquire geolocation information and for other purposes.

HR 580 -- Data Accountability and Trust Act

HR 612 -- National Right-to-Work Act

Official Title: A bill to preserve and protect the free choice of individual employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, or to refrain from such activities.

HR 656 -- Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to disclosures to governments by communications-related service providers of certain information consisting of or relating to communications, and for other purposes.

HR 689 -- Surveillance Order Reporting Act

Official Title: A bill to permit periodic public reporting by electronic communications providers and remote computer service providers of certain estimates pertaining to requests or demands by Federal agencies under the provisions of certain surveillance laws where disclosure of such estimates is, or may be, otherwise prohibited by law.

HR 699 -- Email Privacy Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to update the privacy protections for electronic communications information that is stored by third-party service providers in order to protect consumer privacy interests while meeting law enforcement needs, and for other purposes.

HR 719 -- TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act

Official Title: A bill to require the Transportation Security Administration to conform to existing Federal law and regulations regarding criminal investigator positions, and for other purposes.

HR 752 -- Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act

Official Title: A bill to prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, and for other purposes.

HR 791 -- Cell Phone Freedom Act

Official Title: A bill to prohibit the unauthorized remote shut down of a cellular phone.

HR 798 -- Responsible Skies Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to prohibit the flying of unmanned recreational aircraft near commercial airports.

HR 827 -- Robo Calls Off Phones (Robo COP) Act

Official Title: A bill to direct the Federal Trade Commission to revise the regulations regarding the Do-not-call registry to prohibit politically-oriented recorded message telephone calls to telephone numbers listed on that registry.

HR 950 -- Prohibiting Automated Traffic Enforcement Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to prohibit automated traffic enforcement, and for other purposes.

HR 1385

Official Title: A bill to provide for a legal framework for the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes.

HR 1431

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to prohibit the preemption of State stalking laws.

HR 1432

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to prohibit the preemption of State identity theft laws.

HR 1560 -- Protecting Cyber Networks Act

Official Title: A bill to improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats, and for other purposes.

HR 1646 -- Homeland Security Drone Assessment and Analysis Act

Official Title: A bill to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to research how small and medium sized unmanned aerial systems could be used in an attack, how to prevent or mitigate the effects of such an attack, and for other purposes.

HR 1704 -- Personal Data Notification and Protection Act

Official Title: A bill to establish a nation data breach notification standard, and for other purposes.

HR 1731 -- National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance multi-directional sharing of information related to cybersecurity risks and strengthen privacy and civil liberties protections, and for other purposes.

HR 1746 -- Truth in Employment Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to protect employer rights.

HR 1766

Official Title: A bill to amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to repeal a small business loan data collection requirement.

HR 1767

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to require that lists of employees eligible to vote in organizing elections be provided to the National Labor Relations Board.

HR 1768

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act with respect to the timing of elections and pre-election hearings and the identification of pre-election issues.

HR 1770

Official Title: A bill to require certain entities who collect and maintain personal information of individuals to secure such information and to provide notice to such individuals in the case of a breach of security involving such information, and for other purposes.

HR 1893

Official Title: A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act to modify the authority of the National Labor Relations Board with respect to rulemaking, issuance of complaints, and authority over unfair labor practices.

HR 1939 -- No Armed Drones (NADA) Act

Official Title: A bill to amend the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to establish prohibitions to prevent the use of an unmanned aircraft system as a weapon while operating in the national airspace system, and for other purposes.

HR 2246

Official Title: A bill to amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to update certain procedures applicable to commerce in firearms and remove certain Federal restrictions on interstate firearms transactions.

HR 2283

Official Title: A bill to require face to face purchases of ammunition, to require licensing of ammunition dealers, and to require reporting regarding bulk purchases of ammunition.

HR 2909 -- Protecting Firefighters and Promoting Innovation Act

Official Title: A bill to establish an interagency working group to study the use of unmanned aircraft systems for wildland firefighting, and for other purposes.

HR 3025 -- Wildfire Airspace Protection Act

Official Title: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a criminal penalty for launching drones that interfere with fighting wildfires affecting Federal property, and for other purposes.

This monthy report is p rovided for NCISS by ...

Please contact Francie Koehler for questions or issues regarding private

investigators and Brad Duffy re the same for security professionals.

Francie Koehler - Investigations -- or -- Brad Duffy - Security

Permission granted to repost

Until next month,

Until next month,

Lobbyit.com