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92_SB0534eng SB534 Engrossed LRB9203271LBgc 1 AN ACT concerning hearing instruments. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection 5 Act is amended by changing Section 8 as follows: 6 (225 ILCS 50/8) (from Ch. 111, par. 7408) 7 Sec. 8. Applicant qualifications; examination. 8 (a) In order to protect persons with hearing 9 impairments, the Department shall authorize or shall conduct 10 an appropriate examination for persons who dispense, test, 11 select, recommend, fit, or service hearing instruments. The 12 frequency of holding these examinations shall be determined 13 by the Department by rule. Those who successfully pass such 14 an examination shall be issued a license as a hearing 15 instrument dispenser, which shall be effective for a 2-year 16 period. 17 (b) Applicants shall be: 18 (1) at least 18 years of age; 19 (2) of good moral character; 20 (3) a high school graduate or the equivalent; 21 (4) free of contagious or infectious disease; and 22 (5) a citizen or person who has the status as a 23 legal alien. 24 Felony convictions of the applicant and findings against 25 the applicant involving matters set forth in Sections 17 and 26 18 shall be considered in determining moral character, but 27 such a conviction or finding shall not make an applicant 28 ineligible to register for examination. 29 (c) Prior to engaging in the practice of fitting, 30 dispensing, or servicing hearing instruments, an applicant 31 shall demonstrate, by means of written and practical SB534 Engrossed -2- LRB9203271LBgc 1 examinations, that such person is qualified to practice the 2 testing, selecting, recommending, fitting, selling, or 3 servicing of hearing instruments as defined in this Act. An 4 applicant who fails to obtain a license within 12 months 5 after passing both the written and practical examinations 6 must take and pass those examinations again in order to be 7 eligible to receive a license. 8 The Department shall, by rule, determine the conditions 9 under which an individual is examined. 10 (d) Proof of having met the minimum requirements of 11 continuing education as determined by the Board shall be 12 required of all license renewals. Pursuant to rule, the 13 continuing education requirements may, upon petition to the 14 Board, be waived in whole or in part if the hearing 15 instrument dispenser can demonstrate that he or she served in 16 the Coast Guard or Armed Forces, had an extreme hardship, or 17 obtained his or her license by examination or endorsement 18 within the preceding renewal period. 19 (e) Beginning January 1, 20032001, persons applying for 20 an initial license must demonstrate having earned an 21 associate degree or its equivalent from an accredited 22 institution of higher education and meet the other 23 requirements of this Section. In addition, the applicant 24 must demonstrate the successful completion of 12 semester 25 hours or 18 quarter hours of academic undergraduate course 26 work in an accredited institution consisting of 3 semester 27 hours of anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing 28 mechanism, 3 semester hours of hearing science, 3 semester 29 hours of introduction to audiology, and 3 semester hours of 30 aural rehabilitation, or the quarter hour equivalent. 31 Persons licensed before January 1, 20032001who have a valid 32 license on that date may have their license renewed without 33 meeting the requirements of this subsection. 34 (Source: P.A. 91-932, eff. 1-1-01.) SB534 Engrossed -3- LRB9203271LBgc 1 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 2 becoming law.