On June 8-10, the SIA Government Summit will tackle challenges facing sectors of critical infrastructure where the federal and state governments are exerting a great deal of influence.

Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana legislators are working to crack down on copper thieves, devising similar legislation so someone will not be able to steal copper from one state and try to sell it in another.

Alaska, Louisiana and Montana had the most gun deaths of any U.S. states in 2010, and they fall among the states with the weakest gun laws, according to the Center for American Progress.

With only two security officers to patrol 900 miles of track, state legislators were pushing to grant those officers the power to arrest, issue citations and use firearms if necessary.

Up to five years in prison faces anyone guilty of knowingly committing organized retail crime, such as reselling stolen items to other stores or on the Internet.

Concerns about voter disenfranchisement and the logistics of providing adequate numbers of photo IDs before the November 6 election were the top reasons Judge Simpson cited for blocking the law. 

Illinois school districts are failing to report drug, weapon and teacher assault incidents to the state as required by a long-standing state law.

Peeking into certain business sectors – three health care facilities, state government and a private university – there are outstanding examples of facilities and their security leaders using technology to validate security’s value, create business efficiencies and to build quality teams.