Commercial Integrator February 2022 - 25

making sure that our members can do the
work they know how to do and that they're
trained to do...without being locked out of
that business because of a variation in some
particular voltage or wattage level. "
Acknowledging Integrator Expertise
According to Wilson, one of NSCA's main
goals is ensuring that laws and regulations
acknowledge AV integrators' training and
expertise. He says, " What we try to prevent
is what we call 'regulatory capture.'
[That] is an effort [in which] lobbyists and
people that represent trade groups go to
lawmakers and say, 'We need to have this
type of regulation in place in order for our
members or companies to do best.' "
To facilitate NSCA achieving its mission,
Wilson harks back to collective action. He
says that the association has partnered with
13 different trade associations across the
U.S., along with key companies, such as
Cisco and Comcast, that have legislative
divisions. " We decided to monitor these
pieces of legislation and think about the
connected workplace, the connected
home and the connected society we're
in, " Wilson states. " [We also] think about
what types of things can we do to deploy
technology in a safe and effective way. "
Jason Potterf, senior technical leader and
digital building architect at Cisco, echoes
NSCA's mission. " That's been our core
message on all this legislation, " he begins.
" For me personally, it all comes down to
safety - what's actually going to cause a
shock injury or a fire hazard, and if we need
extra rules to mitigate that. And when we
show up with that [kind of] message, we
do really well. "
NSCA and its allied associations meet
every Friday to discuss various bills and
pending pieces of legislation. Sometimes,
the group even writes model legislation to
present to policymakers. Wilson cites an
example from the state of Maryland, where
NSCA and its allies drafted a joint piece of
legislation on licensures - whether company
or individual - and what they should
look like. " [Then,] we proposed that to
the regulatory body...because we don't
want to have laws in a state that contradict
[those] in the state over, " he explains.
One of NSCA's principal aims, therefore,
commercialintegrator.com
is to advocate for reciprocity among states;
that way, NSCA members and others in the
integration community don't need to obtain
hundreds of licenses and certifications just
to conduct business. Wilson emphasizes
that operating a business should be affordable
even as business owners abide by all
federal, state and local laws and regulations.
NSCA not only tracks legislation that
affects the integration community but also
monitors legislation that could benefit
society broadly. Wilson offers an example,
explaining, " Some states have members
go through a licensure process where
everybody [who] is working in a school or
daycare has to have a background check.
It seems to me that that is a pretty smart
thing. We want to make sure that, [if] we
do background checks, [it means] everybody
has to do that. "
According to LeBlanc, when affected
companies and firms write letters to policymakers,
it often generates a great impact. In
certain cases, opportunities arise to speak
to lawmakers as they consider their votes
on pending legislation. (In the age of the
COVID-19 pandemic, those conversations
are almost always virtual.) " What often
ends up happening is that you get enough
people [who] know enough about the topic
and can make a strong enough business
case together [where] it does make an
impact, " he states. Underlining LeBlanc's
statement, Potterf adds, " Nine times out of
10, getting people to show up kind of stops
the [legislation] from going into effect. "
A complicating - and sometimes
confounding - factor is how some of these
pieces of legislation even originate. Wilson
says, " The originating source is the inter'We're
just trying to make sure that
it's fair to everyone and that one
group isn't being singled out.'
- Chuck Wilson, CEO, NSCA
This amounts to NSCA working to
ensure that integrators are treated equally.
Wilson adds, " [Basically,] what we're
looking for is uniformity in all disciplines
and the connected technology space.
We're just trying to make sure that it's fair
to everyone and that one group isn't being
singled out...in an exempt sort of fashion. "
Hard to Keep Track
LeBlanc acknowledges that, often, it's hard
for individual companies to keep track of
all the legislation that could affect them. He
explains, " There is a chance that [a harmful
proposed ordinance] would just never get
on enough people's radar for anybody
to take action against it. However, what
happened [in Houston] did get on the radar
of this group.... " LeBlanc said an effort like
NSCA's prompts the legislation to become
a central topic of conversation. He adds,
" One of things we do is try to examine what
we can do and what the options are in terms
of presenting opinions about the law. "
esting part. How would a lawmaker even
know about PoE? In some cases, the state
legislatures are made up of teachers, lawyers
and doctors, [and they're] discussing
a bill on cybersecurity or school safety -
topics that are quite complex and technical
in nature. " He adds, " It's really hard for a
non-technical lawmaker to understand the
complexities of what's happening in the
world that we come from. " Potterf underlines
that, when policymakers are putting
together technically oriented legislation
and regulations, they need to have experts
available who can share their expertise.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread,
virtually every industry saw labor-law
modifications. The integration industry
was not exempt. Wilson reveals that
some labor-law-related decisions were
pushed back - for example, the definitions
of " subcontractor " and " employee, "
of " prevailing " and " non-prevailing "
wages, and others. He also notes
that safety-related laws have gotten
FEBRUARY 2022 Commercial Integrator 25
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Commercial Integrator February 2022

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