In This Issue

Stakeholder Activity

Legislation

In the closing weeks of the 113th Congress, Lobbyit conducted meetings with Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committee staff, and House Energy and Commerce counsel to discuss potential end-of-year legislative packages, focusing on drones, information privacy, labor and background investigation legislation.

Lobbyit also attended a House Transportation Committee hearing on drone regulation, and composed several legislative and regulatory alerts and updates on drone-related activity in the Senate and the Executive Branch, as well as a final NLRB rule on "ambush" elections.

Stakeholder Activity

In the last two months of the 113th Congress, only 12 legislative days were allotted to passing a wide variety of legislation. Initial indications were that several packages stood a good chance of passage, including legislation dealing with energy efficiency, critical minerals, NSA surveillance reform, and reauthorizations of various Executive Branch agencies.

Talk of bipartisan compromise quickly collapsed, however, with the announcement of immigration actions by the White House. Subsequent Congressional activity focused almost solely on addressing two pieces of "must pass" legislation -- the Defense Authorization bill and the "cromnibus", or combination of a continuing resolution for the Department of Homeland Security and an omnibus appropriations bill combining 12 other appropriations bills and funding the government through the end of the 2015 fiscal year.

Though efforts to pass "tax extenders" -- a package of tax incentives due to expire at the end of 2014 -- had twice previously failed, Congress was able to cobble together a package of one year extensions of some 30+ tax provisions and pass them during an extended Senate session to close out the 113th.

During this period, Lobbyit was busy meeting with staff on the committees of jurisdiction concerning legislation with the greatest potential impact on NCISS members, including data privacy measures driven by retiring Senator Rockefeller, the USA Freedom Act sponsored by Senate Judiciary Chair Leahy, and bipartisan drone and geo-locational device legislation sponsored by a wide range of Members.

The greatest fear at the end of a Congress, especially with chambers changing partisan leadership, is that the waning hours and minutes see a host of legislation being quietly brought up under Unanimous Consent in the Senate and passed on a simple motion. This end-of-session push before adjournment sine die is a critical time, as much that could not pas on the floor through regular order is quietly passed into law. For instance, though Congress is widely thought to have accomplished very little, a review of bills signed by the President from December 16-18 reveals that over 30 bills were passed in this manner.

As a result, Lobbyit met with House and Senate committees of jurisdiction, both Majority and Minority offices, to gauge prospects for action, and to reiterate NCISS positions on bills under their jurisdiction. We were assured that: 1) we would not be impacted by the target bills which did have some prospect of passage, and 2) bills which would hurt NCISS member practices would not be acted upon. Despite these guarantees, we watched the floor nervously as time ticked down on the 113th Congress.

In the final analysis, legislative paralysis was largely our friend.

In a related action, Lobbyit composed a series of legislative and regulatory alerts

concerning drone regulation and a final rule by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) dramatically shortening the time for a vote on labor organization, or the so-called "ambush" rule.

The final rule issued y the NLRB was largely the same as the draft issued nearly two years ago, and which was the subject of a lengthy comment submitted to the NLRB in early 2014.

Numerous business groups and associations have signaled their intent to sue the NLRB -- a process which could take years to resolve.

Earlier in November, Lobbyit composed an alert for NCISS members to keep the Advocacy Hub in mind, as it offers a valuable tool for communicating support or opposition to bills and regulations directly to the appropriate officials.

Now that we are on the cusp of the 114th Congress, NCISs members can expect a great deal more activity on the Advocacy Hub as new legislation is introduced and regulations considered. It's a great time to have this benefit, as NCISs members can onpply stay apprised of the latest government activity in their field, but also have the means to make their voices heard by the officials and departments considering such changes.

Legislation

H.R.5091 - Drone Reform Act (Yoho, R-Fl)

Drone Reform Act - Prohibits operations involving the use of an armed unmanned aerial vehicle from being carried out under the authority of federal agency other than the Department of Defense (DOD).

Defines "unmanned aerial vehicle" (UAV) as an aircraft operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft, including drones, unmanned aircraft or aerial systems, remotely piloted aircraft or vehicles, remotely operated aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicle systems.

Authorizes only uniformed members of the Armed Forces to: (1) operate, or order the operation of, an armed UAV; or (2) operate or fire, or order the operation or firing of, any weapon or other munition carried on an armed UAV.

Subjects the operation and use of armed UAVs to the requirements of laws applicable to the Armed Forces.

Prohibits this Act from being construed to: (1) limit or expand the authority of a component of the federal government to provide intelligence to the DOD, or (2) create or expand any authority for the federal government to kill any person.

S.1639 - Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act of 2013 (Markey, D-Ma)

Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act of 2013 - Amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to direct the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to study and identify any potential threats to privacy protections posed by the integration of unmanned aircraft (drone) systems into the national airspace system, including any potential violations of privacy principles.

Applies the same privacy principles requirement to any drone system to be operated by a law enforcement agency or a law enforcement agency contractor or subcontractor, except that the application for it shall include a data minimization statement, meeting certain requirements, instead of a data collection statement.

Creates a private right of action in state or U.S. district court for persons injured by a prohibited act.

H.R.2868 - Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act of 2013

Directs the Secretary to establish certain procedures to allow for civil operation in the national airspace system of small drone systems that do not meet expedited operational authorization requirements. Requires such procedures to ensure that the integration of drone systems into the national airspace system is done in compliance with privacy principles.

Prohibits the Secretary from approving, issuing, or awarding any certificate, license, or other grant of authority to operate a drone system in the national airspace system unless the application for it includes a data collection statement, meeting certain requirements, that provides reasonable assurance that the applicant will operate the dronesystem in accordance with privacy principles. Applies the same privacy principles requirement to any drone system to be operated by a law enforcement agency or a law enforcement agency contractor or subcontractor, except that the application for it shall include a data minimization statement, meeting certain requirements, instead of a data collection statement.

S 1737/HR 1010

- Minimum Wage Fairness Act, Harkin (D-La). S 1737 was introduced on 11/19/13 and placed on the Senate Legislative calendar (bypassing committee).

The bill would provide for an increase in the federal minimum wage progressively from $8.20/hr for the first 6 months, $9.15/hr six months later, then $10.10/hr the following year.

Many NCISS member security companies would be harmed by an increased minimum wage requirement, and would be forced to curtail the number of jobs offered.

HR.1755/S. 815

- Employment Non Discrimination Act of 2013 (ENDA), Sen. Merkley (D-WV) S. 815 passed the Senate and is under consideration in the House, where it was referred to five separate committees.

This legislation would ban employers from firing, refusing to hire or discriminating against workers or job applicants based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

ENDA would make it increasingly difficult and expensive to terminate problem employees, offering them another path for vexatious litigation.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) -- The "Ambush" Rule
On March 11, 2014, the NLRB proposed new regulations that would radically change the process for union representation elections, effectively shortening election time frames and limiting employees' opportunity to hear from employers before making a crucial workplace decision. The shorter the election, the less time employers and employees have to communicate about the impact of unionization or about a specific union attempting to organize the workplace.

The proposed rule is based on a false premise, violates employer speech rights, and denies employees the ability to make an informed decision about representation.

S. 2025

"The Data Broker Accountability and Transparency Act," by Sen. Rockefeller (D-WV).

S. 2025 contains a prohibition of "pretexting" by data brokers, prohibiting "obtaining or solicitation to obtain personal information by false pretenses." While it is unclear if the definition of data broker would extend to PIs, prohibiting the use of pretexting by PIs would deprive them of a valuable and necessary tool.

Using false pretenses to acquire information for illegal purposes is already itself illegal. PIs use a variety of "benign" pretexts to gather information or identify individuals for numerous legitimate reasons, including identifying "deadbeat" parents, locating debtors, finding defense witnesses, investigating fraud, locating hidden assets and ill-gotten gains, etc.

Congress must insure that private investigators are not swept into the definition of data brokers, and should include a specific statutory exemption.

HR 1312/S 639

"The Geological Privacy and Surveillance Act," by Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). The legislation would require consent of the subject when using of GPS technology for tracking individuals.

NCISS opposes the legislation. The use of the devices for surveillance significantly reduces accident risk during lawful surveillance.

HR 645

"Equal Employment for All Act," by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN.) Would prohibit current or prospective employers from using a consumer credit report for either employment purposes or for taking adverse employment actions.

Provided for NCISS by ...

Please contact Francie Koehler for questions or issues regarding private

investigators and Brad Duffy re the same for security professionals. We hope this three-day holiday honoring Columbus Day or Indigenous People's Day (depending on your location) finds you properous and in good health.

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

Permission granted to repost

Until next month,