Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB2443
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Full Text of HB2443  96th General Assembly

HB2443sam001 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. William R. Haine

Filed: 4/22/2009

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2443

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2443 on page 1, by
3 replacing line 5 with the following:
4 "is amended by changing Sections 8, 9, 11, 13, and 15 and by
5 adding Section 6.1 as follows:"; and
 
6 on page 1, immediately below line 5, by inserting the
7 following:
 
8     "(225 ILCS 50/8)  (from Ch. 111, par. 7408)
9     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
10     Sec. 8. Applicant qualifications; examination.
11     (a) In order to protect persons with hearing impairments,
12 the Department shall authorize or shall conduct an appropriate
13 examination for persons who dispense, test, select, recommend,
14 fit, or service hearing instruments. The frequency of holding
15 these examinations shall be determined by the Department by
16 rule. Those who successfully pass such an examination shall be

 

 

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1 issued a license as a hearing instrument dispenser, which shall
2 be effective for a 2-year period.
3     (b) Applicants shall be:
4         (1) at least 18 years of age;
5         (2) of good moral character;
6         (3) a high school graduate or the equivalent;
7         (4) free of contagious or infectious disease; and
8         (5) a citizen or person who has the status as a legal
9     alien.
10     Felony convictions of the applicant and findings against
11 the applicant involving matters set forth in Sections 17 and 18
12 shall be considered in determining moral character, but such a
13 conviction or finding shall not make an applicant ineligible to
14 register for examination.
15     (c) Prior to engaging in the practice of fitting,
16 dispensing, or servicing hearing instruments, an applicant
17 shall demonstrate, by means of written and practical
18 examinations, that such person is qualified to practice the
19 testing, selecting, recommending, fitting, selling, or
20 servicing of hearing instruments as defined in this Act. An
21 applicant who fails to obtain a license within 12 months after
22 passing both the written and practical examinations must take
23 and pass those examinations again in order to be eligible to
24 receive a license.
25     The Department shall, by rule, determine the conditions
26 under which an individual is examined.

 

 

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1     (d) Proof of having met the minimum requirements of
2 continuing education as determined by the Board shall be
3 required of all license renewals. Pursuant to rule, the
4 continuing education requirements may, upon petition to the
5 Board, be waived in whole or in part if the hearing instrument
6 dispenser can demonstrate that he or she served in the Coast
7 Guard or Armed Forces, had an extreme hardship, or obtained his
8 or her license by examination or endorsement within the
9 preceding renewal period.
10     (e) Persons Beginning January 1, 2003, persons applying for
11 an initial license must demonstrate having earned, at a
12 minimum, an associate degree or its equivalent from an
13 accredited institution of higher education that is recognized
14 by the U.S. Department of Education and meet the other
15 requirements of this Section. In addition, the applicant must
16 demonstrate the successful completion of 12 semester hours or
17 18 quarter hours of academic undergraduate course work in an
18 accredited institution consisting of 3 semester hours of
19 anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism, 3
20 semester hours of hearing science, 3 semester hours of
21 introduction to audiology, and 3 semester hours of aural
22 rehabilitation, or the quarter hour equivalent. Persons
23 licensed before January 1, 2003 who have a valid license on
24 that date may have their license renewed without meeting the
25 requirements of this subsection.
26 (Source: P.A. 91-932, eff. 1-1-01; 92-161, eff. 7-25-01.)
 

 

 

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1     (225 ILCS 50/9)  (from Ch. 111, par. 7409)
2     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
3     Sec. 9. Areas of examination. The examination required by
4 Section 8 shall be set forth by rule and demonstrate the
5 applicant's technical qualifications by:
6     (a) Tests of knowledge in the following areas as they
7 pertain to the testing, selecting, recommending, fitting, and
8 selling of hearing instruments:
9         (1) characteristics of sound;
10         (2) the nature of the ear; and
11         (3) the function and maintenance of hearing
12     instruments.
13     (b) Practical tests of proficiency in the following
14 techniques as they pertain to the fitting of hearing
15 instruments shall be prescribed by the Department, set forth by
16 rule, and include candidate qualifications in the following
17 areas::
18         (1) pure tone audiometry including air conduction
19     testing and bone conduction testing;
20         (2) live voice or recorded voice speech audiometry,
21     including speech reception, threshold testing and speech
22     discrimination testing;
23         (3) masking;
24         (4) proper selection and adaptation of a hearing
25     instrument;

 

 

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1         (5) Taking earmold impressions;
2         (6) Proper maintenance procedures; and
3         (7) a general knowledge of the medical and physical
4     contra-indications to the use and fitting of a hearing
5     instrument.
6     (c) Knowledge of the general medical and hearing
7 rehabilitation facilities in the area being served.
8     (d) Knowledge of the provisions of this Act and the rules
9 promulgated hereunder.
10 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95.)
 
11     (225 ILCS 50/11)  (from Ch. 111, par. 7411)
12     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
13     Sec. 11. Graduate audiology students. Full-time graduate
14 students enrolled in a program of audiology in an accredited
15 college or university may engage in the dispensing of hearing
16 instruments as a part of an academic a program of audiology
17 without a license under the supervision of a licensed
18 audiologist.
19     The supervisor and the supervisor's employer shall be
20 jointly and severally liable for any acts of the student
21 relating to the practice of fitting or dispensing hearing
22 instruments as defined in this Act and the rules promulgated
23 hereunder.
24 (Source: P.A. 91-932, eff. 1-1-01.)
 

 

 

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1     (225 ILCS 50/13)  (from Ch. 111, par. 7413)
2     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
3     Sec. 13. Expiration and renewal of licenses. The expiration
4 date and renewal period for licenses shall be set by rule. A
5 hearing instrument dispenser whose license has expired may have
6 it reinstated within 2 years after the expiration thereof, by
7 making a renewal application therefor, demonstrating
8 compliance with all continuing education requirements, and by
9 paying the required fee. However, any hearing instrument
10 dispenser whose license expired while: (1) on active duty with
11 the Armed Forces of the United States, or the State Militia
12 called into service or training, or (2) in training or
13 education under the supervision of the United States
14 preliminary to induction into the military service, may have
15 the license renewed, reinstated, or restored without paying any
16 lapsed renewal fees if, within 2 years after honorable
17 termination of such service, training, or education, except
18 under conditions other than honorable, such person shall have
19 furnished the Department with satisfactory evidence of being so
20 engaged and that the service, training or education has been
21 terminated.
22     Pursuant to rule, a hearing instrument dispenser whose
23 license has expired and who has not practiced for at least 2
24 years may have such license restored by retaking and passing
25 the examinations as required by Sections 8 and 9 and paying the
26 required fees.

 

 

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1 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95.)
 
2     (225 ILCS 50/15)  (from Ch. 111, par. 7415)
3     (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
4     Sec. 15. Fees.
5     (a) The examination and licensure following are fees paid
6 to the Department to be charged and are not refundable and
7 shall be set forth by administrative rule. :
8         (1) The fee for application for a license is $40.
9         (2) In addition to the application fee, applicants for
10     any examination shall be required to pay, either to the
11     Department or to the designated testing service, a fee
12     covering the actual cost of the examination. Failure to
13     appear for the examination on the scheduled date, at the
14     time and place specified, after the applicant's
15     application and fee for the examination has been received
16     and acknowledged by the Department or the designated
17     testing service, shall result in the forfeiture of the fee.
18         (3) The fee for a license shall be $115 per 2 year
19     licensure period, except that the fee for a license for a
20     person obtaining his or her supervised professional
21     experience as required by subsection (f) of Section 8 of
22     the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
23     Practice Act shall be $60 per one year licensure period.
24         (4) The fee for the reinstatement of a license which
25     has been expired for more than 90 days but less than 2

 

 

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1     years is $50 plus payment of all lapsed renewal and late
2     fees.
3         (5) The fee for the restoration of a license which has
4     been expired for more than 2 years is $100 plus payment of
5     all lapsed renewal and late fees.
6         (6) The fee for the issuance of a duplicate license,
7     for the issuance of a replacement license which has been
8     lost or destroyed or for the issuance of a license with a
9     change of name or address is $10. No fee is required for
10     name and address changes on Department records when no
11     duplicate license is issued.
12         (7) The fee for a licensee's record for any purpose is
13     $10.
14         (8) The fee to have the scoring of an examination
15     administered by the Department reviewed and verified is
16     $10, plus any fee charged by the testing service.
17         (9) The fee for a wall license shall be the actual cost
18     of such license.
19         (10) The fee for a roster of persons licensed as
20     hearing instrument dispensers shall be the actual cost of
21     such roster.
22         (11) The annual fee for any organization registered
23     pursuant to Section 6 is $100. Such fee is in addition to
24     all other fees imposed under this Act.
25         (12) A late fee, which shall be in the same amount as
26     the license renewal fee, shall be charged to a dispenser

 

 

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1     whose license renewal fee is received by the Department
2     after the expiration date of the license.
3         (13) Sponsors of continuing education courses shall
4     provide such information as may be required by rule and
5     shall pay a fee of $150 per course. However, courses
6     certified or approved for continuing education by the
7     International Hearing Aid Society, the American Academy of
8     Audiology, the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists, the
9     American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, or any other
10     national organization approved by the Board shall be exempt
11     from such fee and compliance with such course filing
12     requirements as specified by rule.
13     (b) The moneys received as fees and fines by the Department
14 under this Act shall be deposited in the Hearing Instrument
15 Dispenser Examining and Disciplinary Fund, which is hereby
16 created as a special fund in the State Treasury, and shall be
17 used only for the administration and enforcement of this Act,
18 including: (1) costs directly related to licensing of persons
19 under this Act; and (2) by the Board in the exercise of its
20 powers and performance of its duties, and such use shall be
21 made by the Department with full consideration of all
22 recommendations of the Board.
23     All moneys deposited in the Fund shall be appropriated to
24 the Department for expenses of the Department and the Board in
25 the administration and enforcement of this Act.
26     Moneys in the Fund may be invested and reinvested, with all

 

 

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1 earnings deposited in the Fund and used for the purposes set
2 forth in this Act.
3     Upon the completion of any audit of the Department as
4 prescribed by the Illinois State Auditing Act, which audit
5 shall include an audit of the Fund, the Department shall make a
6 copy of the audit open to inspection by any interested person,
7 which copy shall be submitted to the Department by the Auditor
8 General, in addition to the copies of audit reports required to
9 be submitted to other State officers and agencies by Section
10 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
11 (Source: P.A. 91-932, eff. 1-1-01.)".