Rhode Island General Laws Title 5. Businesses and Professions § 5-57-2. Definitions

(1) “Alarm agent” means any individual employed within this state by an alarm business, whose duties include the altering, installing, maintaining, moving, repairing, replacing, selling, or servicing of an alarm system or responding to, or causing others to respond to, an alarm system.

(2) “Alarm business” means and includes any business, both resident and nonresident, engaged in the installation, maintenance, alteration, repair, replacement, or servicing of alarm systems or that responds to, or causes others to respond to, those alarm systems at a protected premises within this state. Any “alarm business” licensed under this chapter must maintain a twenty-four-hour-per-day (24) service structure, the terms and conditions of which or procedures for implementation are established by the licensing authority through rules and regulations.

(3) “Alarm system” means an assembly of equipment and devices (or a single device such as a solid-state unit that plugs directly into a 110-volt AC line) designed to detect and signal an unauthorized intrusion into premises or to signal an attempted robbery at premises, and with respect to that signal, police or private guards are expected to respond. Fire-alarm systems and alarm systems that monitor temperature, humidity, or any other condition not directly related to the detection of an unauthorized intrusion into premises or an attempted robbery at premises are excluded from the provisions of this chapter.

(4) “Department” means the division of professional regulation within the department of labor and training.

(5) “Director” means the director of the department of labor and training.

(6) “Licensing authority” means the department of labor and training.

(7) “Notify by mail”, when used to notify applicant of approval of license or I.D. card; or when used to forward license or permanent I.D. card to licensee or I.D. card holder means first-class mail. When used to notify applicant, licensee, or I.D. card holder of intent to refuse or deny application, or suspend or revoke the license or I.D. card, or to notify a licensee, applicant, or I.D. card holder of final refusal, denial, suspension, or revocation of that application, license, or I.D. card, the term “notify by mail” means certified mail, return receipt requested.

(8) “Owner” means a person who holds an interest of twenty-five percent (25%), directly or indirectly, or more in an alarm business.

(9) “Person” means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or organization of any nature.

(10) “Principal corporate officer” means the president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and comptroller as well as any other person who performs functions for the corporation corresponding to those performed by the preceding officers.

(11) “Subscriber” means a person or business that buys or obtains an alarm system and has a contract with an alarm business to monitor and/or service the alarm system.