State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

   [ Search ]   [ PDF text ]   [ Legislation ]   
[ Home ]   [ Back ]   [ Bottom ]


[ Introduced ][ Enrolled ]


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, 2003 2001, 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, 2003 2001 who 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.

[ Top ]