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Public Act 92-0161
SB534 Enrolled LRB9203271LBgc
AN ACT concerning hearing instruments.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection
Act is amended by changing Section 8 as follows:
(225 ILCS 50/8) (from Ch. 111, par. 7408)
Sec. 8. Applicant qualifications; examination.
(a) In order to protect persons with hearing
impairments, the Department shall authorize or shall conduct
an appropriate 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) a high school graduate 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 who fails to obtain a license within 12 months
after passing both the written and practical examinations
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) Beginning January 1, 2003 2001, persons applying for
an initial license must demonstrate having earned an
associate degree or its equivalent from an accredited
institution of higher education 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 2001 who have a valid
license on that date may have their license renewed without
meeting the requirements of this subsection.
(Source: P.A. 91-932, eff. 1-1-01.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
Passed in the General Assembly May 08, 2001.
Approved July 25, 2001.
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