A SIA Government Relations Update: The Latest Advocacy Activities and Issues Impacting Members in July 2026

The Security Industry Association (SIA) government relations team is working to support our priorities at the federal and state level, for artificial intelligence and data privacy legislation, spectrum policy, school safety funding, tariff relief, counterdrone capabilities and right to repair laws. While many of these advocacy efforts are still ongoing for this year at the federal and state levels, we want to make sure our members are aware of some key state outcomes, and important updates we are tracking at the federal level. Here are some brief highlights:

Lower 900 MHz Band

The first half of 2026 has been a busy one for SIA’s advocacy to protect the Lower 900 MHz band of spectrum.

In Aril, the House Appropriations Committee approved language in its annual funding bill that expresses concern about the FCC petition, and bars the FCC from any rulemaking that would reconfigure the Lower 900 MHz Band. In early March, 70 industry executives joined forces for SIA’s annual Security Hill Day, advocating for our number one priority of dismissing the NextNav petition and preserving the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules protecting unlicensed Part 15 use of the band. Later on in May, SIA hosted a webinar with the government relations team to update industry on where our advocacy efforts stand, what steps are next in the FCC process and what’s at stake for the security and public safety community. On Capitol Hill, congressional pressure is mounting. In June, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) alternatives, that included NextNav as a witness on the panel. Several lawmakers took the opportunity to publicly express their concerns about NextNav’s proposal, with pointed questions drawn from the consistent constituent feedback that they’ve received on NextNav thus far.

SIA is continuing to strongly advocate at the agency and hill level that the FCC outright deny the NextNav petition and move on to exploring other forms of backup to GPS that would not cause as much harm to existing security systems in the United States.

School Safety Grants

The notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the new School Safety Enhancement Program at the U.S. Department of Education has been released. It is now a $93 million program for fiscal year 2026 (versus $20 million appropriated). Thirty states are expected to receive grants, to subgrant to recipients. Applications are due July 28, 2026.

Key allowable purposes include secured and monitored school entry points, functional door locking systems and perimeter controls; coordinated incident command structures, clear emergency response protocols; enhanced training and preparedness exercises for school personnel and school resource officers and regular safety drills aligned with best practices. The U.S. Department of Justice School Violence Prevention Program NOFO was just released. Applications are due Aug. 11, 2026.

Tariffs

On Feb. 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were illegally imposed and ordered the Trump administration to immediately halt the program and issue refunds for duties already imposed. By May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had officially launched their official platform for companies to request IEEPA tariff refunds. Importers can access their Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) Tab through their ACE Portal accounts. Up to 9,999 entries can be uploaded to the portal at once in a CSV file, and CBP is currently estimating that refunds will be issued automatically within 60 to 90 days once the entries are accepted into their system. Step-by-step guidance for this process is available on the CBP website.

State Outcomes

Notable technology and data privacy regulation measures that have cleared the state legislatures include:

• A health data privacy measure in Illinois that includes amended language allowing health care facilities to continue having certain security systems and license plate readers
• An Illinois law regulating large frontier developers modeled after similar measures in New York and California
• A New York bill that requires the state Consumer Protection Division to formulate and subsequently requires a policy governing the use of automated license plate readers by nongovernment entities
• An Illinois version of “Alyssa’s Law” encouraging schools to consider technology upgrades for security and safety
• A “repairability score” labeling requirement in New York that would apply to consumer electronics sold in the state

Other measures that the security industry worked to oppose have been officially considered “dead.”

• In California, a bill that would have set unworkable requirements on sellers and installers of security camera systems used on residential properties was withdrawn.
• In New York, two measures stalled in committee assembly before the session ended: a measure that would have made unworkable consumer consent requirements for data sharing and a requirement for warning signs about the tracking and collection of biometric data that included several problematic provisions. 

Stay tuned for a comprehensive update from our government relations team to detail all state outcomes at the close of most sessions.

This article originally appeared in RISE Together, SIA RISE’s newsletter for young security professionals.