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91_SB1404sam001
LRB9107670ACpkam
1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1404
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend Senate Bill 1404 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
4 "Section 5. The Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection
5 Act is amended by changing Sections 4, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, and
6 16 as follows:
7 (225 ILCS 50/4) (from Ch. 111, par. 7404)
8 Sec. 4. Disclosure; waiver; complaints; insurance. The
9 hearing instrument dispenser shall give at no charge to every
10 person fitted and sold a hearing instrument the "User
11 Instructional Brochure", supplied by the hearing instrument
12 manufacturer containing information required by the U.S. Food
13 and Drug Administration.
14 Whenever a sale or service of one or more hearing
15 instrument involving $50 or more is made or contracted to be
16 made, whether under a single contract or under multiple
17 contracts, at the time of the transaction, the hearing
18 instrument dispenser shall furnish the consumer with a fully
19 completed receipt or contract pertaining to that transaction,
20 in substantially the same language as that used in the oral
21 presentation to the consumer. The receipt or contract
22 provided to the consumer shall contain the dispenser's name,
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1 license number, business address, business phone number, and
2 signature; the name, address, and signature of the hearing
3 instrument consumer; and the name and signature of the
4 purchaser if the consumer and the purchaser are not the same;
5 the hearing instrument manufacturer's name, and the model and
6 serial numbers; the date of purchase; and the charges
7 required to complete the terms of the sale fully and clearly
8 stated. When the hearing instrument is delivered to the
9 consumer or purchaser, the serial number shall be written on
10 the original receipt or contract and a copy shall be given to
11 the consumer or purchaser. If a used hearing instrument is
12 sold, the receipt and the container thereof shall be clearly
13 marked as "used" or "reconditioned", whichever is applicable,
14 with terms of guarantee, if any.
15 All hearing instruments offered for sale must be
16 accompanied by a 30-business day return privilege. The
17 receipt or contract provided to the consumer shall state that
18 the consumer has a right to return the hearing instrument for
19 a refund within 30 business days of the date of delivery. If
20 a nonrefundable dispensing fee or restocking fee, or both,
21 will be withheld from the consumer in event of return, the
22 terms must be clearly stated on the receipt or contract
23 provided to the consumer.
24 A hearing instrument dispenser shall not sell a hearing
25 instrument unless the prospective user has presented to the
26 hearing instrument dispenser a written statement, signed by a
27 licensed physician, which states that the patient's hearing
28 loss has been medically evaluated and the patient is
29 considered a candidate for a hearing instrument. The medical
30 evaluation must have taken place within the 6 months
31 immediately preceding the date of the sale of the hearing
32 instrument to the prospective hearing instrument user. If
33 the prospective hearing instrument user is 18 years of age or
34 older, the hearing instrument dispenser may afford the
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1 prospective user an opportunity to waive the medical
2 evaluation required by this Section, provided that the
3 hearing instrument dispenser:
4 (i) Informs the prospective user that the exercise
5 of a waiver is not in the user's best health interest;
6 (ii) Does not in any way actively encourage the
7 prospective user to waive the medical evaluation; and
8 (iii) Affords the prospective user the option to
9 sign the following statement:
10 "I have been advised by
11 .................(hearing instrument dispenser's
12 name) that the Food and Drug Administration has
13 determined that my best interest would be served if
14 I had a medical evaluation by a licensed physician
15 (preferably a physician who specializes in diseases
16 of the ear) before purchasing a hearing instrument.
17 I do not wish a medical evaluation before purchasing
18 a hearing instrument."
19 The hearing instrument dispenser or his or her employer
20 shall retain proof of the medical examination or the waiver
21 for at least 3 years from the date of the sale.
22 If the parent or guardian of any individual under the age
23 of 18 years is a member of any church or religious
24 denomination, whose tenets and practices include reliance
25 upon spiritual means through prayer alone and objects to
26 medical treatment and so states in writing to the hearing
27 instrument dispenser, such individual shall undergo a hearing
28 examination as provided by this Section but no proof, ruling
29 out any medically treatable problem causing hearing loss,
30 shall be required.
31 All persons licensed under this Act shall have
32 conspicuously displayed in their business establishment a
33 sign indicating that formal complaints regarding hearing
34 instrument goods or services may be made to the Department.
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1 Such sign shall give the address and telephone number of the
2 Department. All persons purchasing hearing instruments shall
3 be provided with a written statement indicating that formal
4 complaints regarding hearing instrument goods or services may
5 be made to the Department and disclosing the address and
6 telephone number of the Department.
7 Any person wishing to make a complaint, against a hearing
8 instrument dispenser under this Act, shall file it with the
9 Department within 3 years from the date of the action upon
10 which the complaint is based. The Department shall
11 investigate all such complaints.
12 All persons licensed under this Act shall maintain
13 liability insurance as set forth by rule and shall be
14 responsible for the annual calibration of all audiometers in
15 use by such persons. Such annual calibrations shall be in
16 conformance with the current standards set by American
17 National Standard Institute.
18 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95.)
19 (225 ILCS 50/7) (from Ch. 111, par. 7407)
20 Sec. 7. Exemptions.
21 (a) The following are exempt from this Act:
22 (1) Licensed physicians. This exemption, however,
23 does not apply to a physician's employee or subcontractor
24 who is not a physician.
25 (2) Persons who only repair or manufacture hearing
26 instruments and their accessories for wholesale.
27 (3) Audiologists licensed under the Illinois
28 Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act.
29 (b) Audiometers used by persons exempt from this Act to
30 dispense hearing instruments must meet the annual calibration
31 requirements and current standards set by the American
32 National Standards Institute.
33 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95.)
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1 (225 ILCS 50/8) (from Ch. 111, par. 7408)
2 Sec. 8. Applicant qualifications; examination.
3 (a) In order to protect persons with hearing
4 impairments, the Department shall authorize or shall conduct
5 an appropriate examination for persons who dispense, test,
6 select, recommend, fit, or service hearing instruments. The
7 frequency of holding these examinations shall be determined
8 by the Department by rule. Those who successfully pass such
9 an examination shall be issued a license as a hearing
10 instrument dispenser, which shall be effective for a 2-year
11 period.
12 (b) Applicants shall be:
13 (1) at least 18 years of age;
14 (2) of good moral character;
15 (3) a high school graduate or the equivalent;
16 (4) free of contagious or infectious disease; and
17 (5) a citizen or person who has the status as a
18 legal alien.
19 Felony convictions of the applicant and findings against
20 the applicant involving matters set forth in Sections 17 and
21 18 shall be considered in determining moral character, but
22 such a conviction or finding shall not make an applicant
23 ineligible to register for examination.
24 (c) Prior to engaging in the practice of fitting,
25 dispensing, or servicing hearing instruments, an applicant
26 shall demonstrate, by means of written and practical
27 examinations, that such person is qualified to practice the
28 testing, selecting, recommending, fitting, selling, or
29 servicing of hearing instruments as defined in this Act. An
30 applicant who fails to obtain a license within 12 months
31 after passing both the written and practical examinations
32 must take and pass those examinations again in order to be
33 eligible to receive a license. An applicant who is a
34 licensed audiologist shall take the practical examination,
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1 but is not required to take the written examination to
2 qualify for a license.
3 The Department shall, by rule, determine the conditions
4 under which an individual is examined.
5 (d) Proof of having met the minimum requirements of
6 continuing education as determined by the Board shall be
7 required of all license renewals. Pursuant to rule, the
8 continuing education requirements may, upon petition to the
9 Board, be waived in whole or in part if the hearing
10 instrument dispenser can demonstrate that he or she served in
11 the Coast Guard or Armed Forces, had an extreme hardship, or
12 obtained his or her license by examination or endorsement
13 within the preceding renewal period.
14 (e) Beginning January 1, 2001, persons applying for an
15 initial license must demonstrate having earned an associate
16 degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution of
17 higher education and meet the other requirements of this
18 Section. In addition, the applicant must demonstrate the
19 successful completion of 12 semester hours or 18 quarter
20 hours of academic undergraduate course work in an accredited
21 institution consisting of 3 semester hours of anatomy and
22 physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism, 3 semester
23 hours of hearing science, 3 semester hours of introduction to
24 audiology, and 3 semester hours of aural rehabilitation, or
25 the quarter hour equivalent. Persons licensed before January
26 1, 2001 who have a valid license on that date may have their
27 license renewed without meeting the requirements of this
28 subsection.
29 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95.)
30 (225 ILCS 50/11) (from Ch. 111, par. 7411)
31 Sec. 11. Graduate audiology students.
32 Full-time graduate students enrolled in a program of
33 audiology in an accredited college or university may engage
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1 in the dispensing of hearing instruments as a part of a
2 program of audiology without a license under the supervision
3 of a licensed audiologist hearing instrument dispenser.
4 The supervisor and the supervisor's employer shall be
5 jointly and severally liable for any acts of the student
6 relating to the practice of fitting or dispensing hearing
7 instruments as defined in this Act and the rules promulgated
8 hereunder.
9 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-95-31.)
10 (225 ILCS 50/14) (from Ch. 111, par. 7414)
11 Sec. 14. Powers and duties of the Department. The
12 powers and duties of the Department are:
13 (a) To issue licenses and to administer examinations to
14 applicants;
15 (b) To license persons who are qualified to engage in
16 the testing, recommending, fitting, selling, and dispensing
17 of hearing instruments;
18 (c) To provide the equipment and facilities necessary
19 for the examination;
20 (d) To issue and to renew licenses;
21 (e) To suspend or revoke licenses or to take such other
22 disciplinary action as provided in this Act;
23 (f) To consider all recommendations and requests of the
24 Board and to inform it of all actions of the Department
25 insofar as hearing instrument dispensers are concerned,
26 including any instances where the actions of the Department
27 are contrary to the recommendations of the Board;
28 (g) To promulgate rules necessary to implement this Act;
29 (h) (Blank) To subject the supervisor of a graduate
30 audiology student to such discipline as provided in this Act
31 for any violations made by the graduate audiology student;
32 and
33 (i) To conduct such consumer education programs and
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1 awareness programs for persons with a hearing impairment as
2 may be recommended by the Board.
3 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
4 (225 ILCS 50/15) (from Ch. 111, par. 7415)
5 Sec. 15. Fees.
6 (a) The following are fees to be charged and are not
7 refundable:
8 (1) The fee for application for a license is $40
9 $35.
10 (2) In addition to the application fee, applicants
11 for any examination shall be required to pay, either to
12 the Department or to the designated testing service, a
13 fee covering the actual cost of the examination. Failure
14 to appear for the examination on the scheduled date, at
15 the time and place specified, after the applicant's
16 application and fee for the examination has been received
17 and acknowledged by the Department or the designated
18 testing service, shall result in the forfeiture of the
19 fee.
20 (3) The fee for a license shall be $115 $40 per 2
21 year licensure period.
22 (4) The fee for the reinstatement of a license
23 which has been expired for more than 90 days but less
24 than 2 years is $50 plus payment of all lapsed renewal
25 and late fees.
26 (5) The fee for the restoration of a license which
27 has been expired for more than 2 years is $100 plus
28 payment of all lapsed renewal and late fees.
29 (6) The fee for the issuance of a duplicate
30 license, for the issuance of a replacement license which
31 has been lost or destroyed or for the issuance of a
32 license with a change of name or address is $10. No fee
33 is required for name and address changes on Department
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1 records when no duplicate license is issued.
2 (7) The fee for a licensee's record for any purpose
3 is $10.
4 (8) The fee to have the scoring of an examination
5 administered by the Department reviewed and verified is
6 $10, plus any fee charged by the testing service.
7 (9) The fee for a wall license shall be the actual
8 cost of such license.
9 (10) The fee for a roster of persons licensed as
10 hearing instrument dispensers shall be the actual cost of
11 such roster.
12 (11) The annual fee for any organization registered
13 pursuant to Section 6 is $100. Such fee is in addition
14 to all other fees imposed under this Act.
15 (12) A late fee, which shall be in the same amount
16 as the license renewal fee, shall be charged to a
17 dispenser whose license renewal fee is received by the
18 Department after the expiration date of the license.
19 (13) Sponsors of continuing education courses shall
20 provide such information as may be required by rule and
21 shall pay a fee of $150 per course. However, courses
22 certified or approved for continuing education by the
23 International Hearing Aid Society, the American Academy
24 of Audiology, the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists, the
25 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, or any
26 other national organization approved by the Board shall
27 be exempt from such fee and compliance with such course
28 filing requirements as specified by rule.
29 (b) The moneys received as fees and fines by the
30 Department under this Act shall be deposited in the Hearing
31 Instrument Dispenser Examining and Disciplinary Fund, which
32 is hereby created as a special fund in the State Treasury,
33 and shall be used only for the administration and enforcement
34 of this Act, including: (1) costs directly related to
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1 licensing of persons under this Act; and (2) by the Board in
2 the exercise of its powers and performance of its duties, and
3 such use shall be made by the Department with full
4 consideration of all recommendations of the Board.
5 All moneys deposited in the Fund shall be appropriated to
6 the Department for expenses of the Department and the Board
7 in the administration and enforcement of this Act.
8 Moneys in the Fund may be invested and reinvested, with
9 all earnings deposited in the Fund and used for the purposes
10 set forth in this Act.
11 Upon the completion of any audit of the Department as
12 prescribed by the Illinois State Auditing Act, which audit
13 shall include an audit of the Fund, the Department shall make
14 a copy of the audit open to inspection by any interested
15 person, which copy shall be submitted to the Department by
16 the Auditor General, in addition to the copies of audit
17 reports required to be submitted to other State officers and
18 agencies by Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
19 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95.)
20 (225 ILCS 50/16) (from Ch. 111, par. 7416)
21 Sec. 16. Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Board.
22 There shall be established a Hearing Instrument Consumer
23 Protection Board which shall assist, advise and make
24 recommendations to the Department.
25 The Board shall consist of 6 5 members who shall be
26 residents of Illinois. One shall be a licensed physician who
27 specializes in otology or otolaryngology; one shall be a
28 member of a consumer-oriented organization concerned with the
29 hearing impaired; one shall be from the general public,
30 preferably a senior citizen; and 3 2 shall be licensed
31 hearing instrument dispensers who are. Each hearing
32 instrument dispenser shall have at least 5 years of
33 experience. One of the hearing instrument dispensers shall be
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1 a Licensed Audiologist and the other shall be a National
2 Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialists, one of whom
3 is a licensed audiologist Specialist. If a vote of the Board
4 results in a tie, the Director shall cast the deciding vote.
5 Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Director
6 after consultation with appropriate professional
7 organizations and consumer groups. The term of office of each
8 shall be 4 years. Before a member's term expires, the
9 Director shall appoint a successor to assume member's duties
10 at the expiration of his or her predecessor's term. A
11 vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired
12 term. The members shall annually designate one member as
13 chairman. No member of the Board who has served 2
14 successive, full terms may be reappointed. The Director may
15 remove members for good cause.
16 Members of the Board shall receive reimbursement for
17 actual and necessary travel and for other expenses, not to
18 exceed the limit established by the Department.
19 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95.)
20 Section 10. The Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and
21 Audiology Practice Act is amended by changing Sections 4, 14,
22 and 14.5 and by adding Section 7.1 as follows:
23 (225 ILCS 110/4) (from Ch. 111, par. 7904)
24 Sec. 4. Powers and duties of the Department. Subject to
25 the provisions of this Act, the Department shall exercise the
26 following functions, powers and duties:
27 (a) Conduct or authorize examinations to ascertain the
28 fitness and qualifications of applicants for license and
29 issue licenses to those who are found to be fit and
30 qualified.
31 (b) Prescribe rules and regulations for a method of
32 examination of candidates.
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1 (c) Prescribe rules and regulations defining what shall
2 constitute an approved school, college or department of a
3 university, except that no school, college or department of a
4 university that refuses admittance to applicants solely on
5 account of race, color, creed, sex or national origin shall
6 be approved.
7 (d) Conduct hearings on proceedings to revoke, suspend,
8 or refusal to issue such licenses.
9 (e) Promulgate rules and regulations required for the
10 administration of this Act.
11 (f) Discipline the supervisor of a graduate audiology
12 student as provided in this Act for a violation by the
13 graduate audiology student.
14 (g) Enforce the provisions of the Hearing Instrument
15 Consumer Protection Act and rules promulgated under the Act
16 as that Act and those rules apply to licensed audiologists
17 regulated by the Department.
18 (Source: P.A. 85-1391.)
19 (225 ILCS 110/7.1 new)
20 Sec. 7.1. Graduate audiology students. Full-time
21 graduate students enrolled in a program of audiology in an
22 accredited college or university may engage in the dispensing
23 of hearing instruments as a part of a program of audiology
24 without a license under the supervision of an audiologist
25 licensed under this Act.
26 The supervisor and the supervisor's employer shall be
27 jointly and severally liable for any acts of the student
28 relating to the practice of fitting or dispensing hearing
29 instruments as defined in the rules promulgated under this
30 Act.
31 (225 ILCS 110/14) (from Ch. 111, par. 7914)
32 Sec. 14. Fees.
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1 (a) The Department shall provide by rule for a schedule
2 of fees to be paid for licenses by all applicants. The
3 Department shall consult with the Board and consider its
4 recommendations when establishing the schedule of fees and
5 any increase in fees to be paid by license applicants.
6 (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) below, the fees
7 for the administration and enforcement of this Act, including
8 but not limited to original licensure, renewal, and
9 restoration, shall be set by rule and shall be nonrefundable.
10 (b-5) In addition to any fees set by the Department
11 through administrative rule, the Department shall, at the
12 time of licensure and renewal, collect from each licensed
13 audiologist a Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Fee of
14 $45.
15 (c) Applicants for examination shall be required to pay,
16 either to the Department or the designated testing service, a
17 fee covering the cost of initial screening to determine
18 eligibility and to provide the examination. Failure to appear
19 for the examination on the scheduled date at the time and
20 place specified, after the application for examination has
21 been received and acknowledged by the Department or the
22 designated testing service, shall result in the forfeiture of
23 the examination fee.
24 (Source: P.A. 90-69, eff. 7-8-97.)
25 (225 ILCS 110/14.5)
26 Sec. 14.5. Deposit of fees and fines. Beginning July 1,
27 1995, all of the fees and fines collected under this Act
28 shall be deposited into the General Professions Dedicated
29 Fund, with the exception of the Hearing Instrument Consumer
30 Protection Fee provided for in subsection (b-5) of Section
31 14, which shall be deposited into the Hearing Instrument
32 Dispenser Licensing and Discipline Fund administered by the
33 Department of Public Health.
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1 (Source: P.A. 88-683, eff. 1-24-95.)
2 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
3 January 1, 2001.".