HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

40

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the Board of Private Detectives and Guards to Review the current laws, regulations, procedures, and fees associated with the REGISTRATION of Security Guards.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the current laws and administrative rules governing the registration of security guard employees may be overly burdensome and costly for the security guard workforce; and

 

     WHEREAS, existing administrative rules place a heavy burden on security guards, creating barriers for guards wishing to enter, continue, or return to the profession; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Board of Private Detectives and Guards charges a $117 fee for a person to register or renew a registration as a security guard employee for two years, which is a large up-front expense for a person who may be unemployed and trying to find gainful employment as a security guard; and

 

     WHEREAS, before registering with the Board of Private Detectives and Guards, the applicant must first complete eight hours of classroom instruction by an approved instructor, and an additional four hours of classroom instruction is required each time applicants renew their registration; and

 

     WHEREAS, prices for training classes are left fully to the discretion of instructors, and there is no statutory or administrative rule framework that sets a maximum or minimum amount that can be charged, thus creating an opportunity for price gouging by instructors; and

 

     WHEREAS, the high cost of registration and training can cause a large financial strain on both new security guards who have not yet worked a single day on the job, and renewing guards who are unemployed but searching for work; and

 

     WHEREAS, the costs and fees required for a person to attain and maintain a security guard registration with the State are high in relation to the relatively low wages that security guards are paid; and

 

     WHEREAS, security guard agencies are often reliant on contracts with third party organizations that can be terminated by the third party at any time, potentially resulting in mass layoffs of security guards; and

 

     WHEREAS, although some guard agencies will pay for the training and registration fees for prospective employees and employees, these agencies often prohibit the employee from using their guard registration with any other employer as a condition for doing so, thereby preventing the guard employee from taking second part-time jobs and denying them additional supplemental income; and

 

     WHEREAS, security guards who do not renew their registration with the Board of Private Detectives and Guards face immediate forfeiture of their registration rather than suspension; and

 

     WHEREAS, while a forfeited registration may be restored within one year after the date of forfeiture by filing a renewal application along with required documentation, renewal fees, and a penalty fee, a person who fails to restore a forfeited registration within one year is considered a new applicant and must satisfy all requirements for licensure in effect at the time the person reapplies for registration; and

 

     WHEREAS, although a security guard can place the registration on an "inactive" status with the Board of Private Detectives and Guards, the employee must still pay fees to the Board to do so, which can constitute a hardship for security guards who are out of work and trying to find gainful employment; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, that the Board of Private Detectives and Guards is requested to review the current laws, administrative rules, and procedures currently governing the registration of security guards, including:

 

     (1)  The policy mandating forfeiture of registration rather than suspension;

 

     (2)  Whether the current registration fees are too high in relation to the median pay of security guards and when compared to the licensing fees of other professions; and

 

     (3)  Whether the prices charged by training instructors should be regulated by the Board; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Private Detectives and Guards is requested to study whether security guard agencies should be prohibited from denying their employees from taking outside supplemental employment; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Private Detectives and Guards is requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation or amendments to administrative rules, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2018; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Division Administrator of the Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, and the Chair of the Board of Private Detectives and Guards.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Board of Private Detectives and Guards; Security Guards; Registration