Alarm companies: electronic transactions.

Existing law, the Alarm Company Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of alarm company operators and the certification and registration of employees of alarm companies, including alarm agents, by the Bureau for Security and Investigative Services within the Department of Consumer Affairs. That act requires that specified agreements entered into by an alarm company pertaining to alarm systems, including, among others, lease agreements, monitoring agreements, service agreements, and installation agreements, be in writing. Existing law, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) , generally allows parties to contract to conduct transactions by electronic means, imposes specified requirements on electronic transactions in order to comply with the act, and provides specified protections for electronic transactions conducted pursuant to the act. UETA does not apply to certain transactions, including, among others, "home solicitation contracts," as defined. Existing law provides specified time periods for consumers to cancel a home solicitation contract, and requires specified disclosures and statements, and separately executed cancellation documents in connection with the execution of those contracts. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding certain provisions in UETA excluding home solicitation contracts, contracts for services or other activities authorized by the Alarm Company Act may be conducted by electronic means. The bill would provide that the provisions of UETA would apply to transactions conducted by persons licensed, certified, or registered pursuant to the Alarm Company Act, for purposes authorized by the Alarm Company Act, as specified. The bill would also exclude contracts for services or other activities authorized by the Alarm Company Act from the definition of a home solicitation contract. The bill would require those electronic contracts for services or other activities authorized by the Alarm Company Act to comply with specified cancellation periods, statements, and disclosures that apply to home solicitation contracts, and would authorize signatures and statements required by those provisions to be provided and transmitted electronically.