|
Public Act 099-0204
|
| SB0731 Enrolled | LRB099 05939 MLM 25988 b |
|
|
AN ACT concerning regulation.
|
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
|
represented in the General Assembly:
|
Section 5. The Regulatory Sunset Act is amended by changing |
Section 4.26 and by adding Section 4.36 as follows:
|
(5 ILCS 80/4.26)
|
Sec. 4.26. Acts repealed on January 1, 2016. The following |
Acts are repealed on January 1, 2016: |
The Illinois Athletic Trainers Practice Act.
|
The Illinois Roofing Industry Licensing Act.
|
The Illinois Dental Practice Act.
|
The Collection Agency Act.
|
The Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and |
Nail Technology Act of 1985.
|
The Respiratory Care Practice Act.
|
The Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act.
|
The Illinois Physical Therapy Act.
|
The Professional Geologist Licensing Act. |
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-876, eff. 8-21-08; |
96-1246, eff. 1-1-11.)
|
(5 ILCS 80/4.36 new) |
Sec. 4.36. Act repealed on January 1, 2026. The following |
|
Act is repealed on January 1, 2026: |
The Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act.
|
Section 10. The Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act |
is amended by changing Sections 5, 8, 15, and 17 as follows:
|
(225 ILCS 50/5) (from Ch. 111, par. 7405)
|
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
|
Sec. 5. License required. No person shall engage in the
|
selling, practice of testing, fitting, selecting, |
recommending, adapting,
dispensing, or servicing hearing |
instruments or display a sign, advertise, or
represent oneself |
as a person who practices the fitting or selling of hearing
|
instruments unless such person holds a current license issued |
by the Department
as provided in this Act. Such person shall be |
known as a licensed hearing
instrument dispenser. Individuals |
licensed pursuant to the provisions of
Section 8 of this Act |
shall be deemed qualified to provide tests of human
hearing and |
hearing instrument evaluations for the purpose of dispensing a
|
hearing instrument for which any State agency may contract. The |
license shall
be conspicuously displayed in the place of |
business. Duplicate licenses shall
be issued by the Department |
to licensees operating more than one office upon
the additional |
payment set forth in this Act. No hearing instrument |
manufacturer may distribute, sell, or otherwise provide |
hearing instruments to any unlicensed hearing care |
|
professional for the purpose of selling hearing instruments to |
the consumer.
|
Except for violations of the provisions of this Act, or the |
rules
promulgated under it, nothing in this Act shall prohibit |
a corporation,
partnership, trust, association, or other |
entity from engaging in the
business of testing, fitting, |
servicing, selecting, dispensing, selling, or
offering for |
sale hearing instruments at retail without a license, provided |
it
employs only licensed individuals in the direct testing, |
fitting, servicing,
selecting, offering for sale, or |
dispensing of such products. Each such
corporation, |
partnership, trust, association, or other entity shall file |
with
the Department, prior to doing business in this State and |
by July 1 of each
calendar year thereafter, on forms prescribed |
by the Department, a list of all
licensed hearing instrument |
dispensers employed by it and a statement attesting
that it |
complies with this Act and the rules promulgated under it and |
the
regulations of the Federal Food and Drug Administration and |
the Federal Trade
Commission insofar as they are applicable.
|
(Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95; 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.)
|
(225 ILCS 50/8) (from Ch. 111, par. 7408)
|
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
|
Sec. 8. Applicant qualifications; examination.
|
(a) In order to protect persons who are deaf or hard of |
hearing, the Department
shall authorize or shall conduct an |
|
appropriate examination, which may be the International |
Hearing Society's licensure examination, for persons
who |
dispense, test, select, recommend, fit, or service hearing
|
instruments. The frequency of holding these examinations shall
|
be determined by the Department by rule. Those
who successfully |
pass such an examination shall be issued a license
as a hearing |
instrument dispenser, which shall be effective for
a 2-year |
period.
|
(b) Applicants shall be:
|
(1) at least 18 years of age;
|
(2) of good moral character;
|
(3) the holder of an associate's degree or the |
equivalent;
|
(4) free of contagious or infectious disease; and
|
(5) a citizen or person who has the status as a legal |
alien.
|
Felony convictions of the applicant and findings against |
the applicant
involving matters set forth in Sections 17 and 18 |
shall be considered in
determining moral character, but such a |
conviction or finding shall not make an
applicant ineligible to |
register for examination.
|
(c) Prior to engaging in the practice of fitting, |
dispensing, or servicing
hearing instruments, an applicant
|
shall demonstrate, by means of written
and practical |
examinations, that such person is qualified to
practice the |
testing, selecting, recommending, fitting, selling, or
|
|
servicing of hearing instruments as defined in this
Act. An |
applicant must obtain a license within 12
months after passing |
either the written or practical examination, whichever is |
passed first, or must take and
pass those examinations again in |
order to be eligible to receive a license.
|
The Department shall, by rule, determine the conditions |
under which an
individual is examined.
|
(d) Proof of having met the minimum requirements of |
continuing education
as determined by the Board shall be |
required of all license renewals.
Pursuant to rule, the |
continuing education requirements may, upon petition to
the |
Board,
be waived in whole or in part if the hearing instrument |
dispenser
can demonstrate
that he or she served in the Coast |
Guard or Armed Forces, had an extreme
hardship, or obtained his |
or her license by examination or
endorsement within
the |
preceding renewal period.
|
(e) Persons applying for an initial
license
must |
demonstrate having earned, at a minimum, an associate degree or |
its equivalent from an
accredited institution of higher |
education that is recognized by the U.S. Department of |
Education or that meets the U.S. Department of Education |
equivalency as determined through a National Association of |
Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) member, and meet the |
other requirements of
this Section. In addition, the applicant |
must demonstrate the successful
completion of 12 semester hours |
or 18 quarter hours of academic undergraduate
course work in an |
|
accredited institution consisting of 3 semester hours of
|
anatomy and physiology of the speech and hearing mechanism, 3 |
semester hours of
hearing science, 3 semester hours of |
introduction to audiology, and 3 semester
hours of aural |
rehabilitation, or the quarter hour equivalent. Persons
|
licensed before January 1, 2003 who
have a valid license on |
that date may have their license renewed
without meeting the |
requirements of this subsection.
|
(Source: P.A. 98-827, eff. 1-1-15.)
|
(225 ILCS 50/15) (from Ch. 111, par. 7415)
|
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
|
Sec. 15. Fees.
|
(a) The examination and licensure fees paid to the |
Department are not refundable and shall be set forth by |
administrative rule. The Department may require a fee for the |
administration of the examination in addition to examination |
and licensure fees.
|
(b) The moneys received as fees and fines by the Department
|
under this Act shall be deposited in the Hearing Instrument
|
Dispenser Examining
and Disciplinary Fund, which is hereby |
created as a
special fund in the
State Treasury, and shall be |
used only for the administration and
enforcement of this Act,
|
including: (1) costs directly related to licensing of persons |
under
this Act; and (2) by the Board in the exercise
of its |
powers and performance of its duties, and such use shall be |
|
made
by the Department with full consideration of all |
recommendations of the Board.
|
All moneys deposited in the Fund shall be appropriated to |
the Department
for expenses of the Department and the Board in |
the administration and
enforcement of this Act.
|
Moneys in the Fund may
be invested and reinvested, with all |
earnings deposited in the
Fund and used for the purposes set |
forth in this Act.
|
Upon the completion of any audit of the Department as |
prescribed by the
Illinois State Auditing Act, which audit |
shall include an audit of the Fund,
the Department
shall make a |
copy of the audit open to inspection by any interested person,
|
which copy shall be submitted to the Department by the Auditor |
General, in
addition to the copies of audit reports required to |
be submitted to other
State officers and agencies by Section |
3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act.
|
(Source: P.A. 96-683, eff. 1-1-10.)
|
(225 ILCS 50/17) (from Ch. 111, par. 7417)
|
(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
|
Sec. 17. Duties of the Board. The Board shall advise the |
Department in
all matters relating
to this Act and shall assist |
as requested by the Director.
|
The Board shall respond to issues and problems relating to |
the improvement
of services to the deaf or hard of hearing and |
shall make such recommendations
as it considers advisable. It |
|
shall file an annual report with the Director
and shall meet at |
least twice a year.
The Board may meet at any time at the call |
of the chair.
|
The Board shall recommend specialized education programs |
for persons wishing
to become licensed as hearing instrument |
dispensers and shall,
by rule, establish
minimum standards of |
continuing education required for license
renewal. No more than |
5 hours of continuing education credit per year,
however, can |
be obtained through programs sponsored by hearing instrument
|
manufacturers. A minimum of 2 hours of continuing education |
credit per licensing period must be obtained in Illinois law |
and ethics. Continuing education offered by a college, |
university, or bar association, the International Hearing |
Society, the American Academy of Audiology, the American |
Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Illinois |
Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Illinois Academy of |
Audiology, or the Illinois Hearing Society regarding Illinois |
law and ethics shall be accepted toward satisfaction of the |
Illinois law and ethics continuing education requirement.
|
The Board shall hear charges brought by any person against |
hearing instrument
dispensers and
shall recommend disciplinary |
action to the Director.
|
Members of the Board are immune from liability in any |
action based upon a
licensing proceeding or other act performed |
in good faith as a member of the
Board.
|
(Source: P.A. 98-827, eff. 1-1-15.)
|