Public Act 096-0846
 		





HB2444 Re-Enrolled
LRB096 07727 ASK 17828 b






    AN ACT concerning regulation.

 
    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 3 and  by adding Section 9.5 as 
follows:
 



    (225 ILCS 50/3)  (from Ch. 111, par. 7403)



    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)

    Sec. 3. Definitions. As used in this Act, except as the 
context
requires otherwise:

    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.

    "Director" means the Director of the Department of Public 
Health.

    "License" means a license
issued by the State under this

Act to a hearing instrument dispenser.

    "Licensed Audiologist" means a person
licensed
as an 
audiologist under the Illinois Speech-Language Pathology and 
Audiology
Practice Act.

    "National Board Certified Hearing Instrument
Specialist" 
means a person
who has had at least 2 years in practice as a 
licensed hearing
instrument dispenser and has
been certified 
after qualification by examination by the National Board for

Certification in Hearing Instruments Sciences.

    "Licensed physician" or "physician" means a physician 
licensed
in Illinois to
practice medicine in all of its 
branches.

    "Trainee" means a person who is licensed to perform the 
functions of a hearing instrument dispenser in accordance with 
the Department rules and only under the direct supervision of a 
hearing instrument dispenser or audiologist who is licensed in 
the State. 
    "Board" means the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection

Board.

    "Hearing instrument" or "hearing aid" means any instrument 
or
device
designed, intended,
or offered for the purpose of 
improving a person's hearing and any parts,
attachments,
or

accessories, including earmold.
Batteries, cords, and 
individual or group auditory training devices and any

instrument or device used by a public utility in providing 
telephone or
other communication services are excluded.

    "Practice of fitting, dispensing, or servicing of hearing

instruments" means
the measurement of human hearing with an

audiometer, calibrated to
the current American National 
Standard Institute standards, for the
purpose of making 
selections, recommendations, adaptions, services, or sales of

hearing instruments including the making of earmolds as a part 
of the hearing
instrument.

    "Sell" or "sale" means any transfer of title or of the 
right to use
by lease, bailment, or any other contract, 
excluding wholesale transactions
with distributors or dealers.

    "Hearing instrument dispenser" means a person who
is a 
hearing care professional that engages
in the selling,
practice 
of fitting, selecting, recommending, dispensing, or servicing

of hearing instruments or the testing for means of hearing

instrument selection or who
advertises or displays a sign or 
represents himself or herself as a person
who
practices the 
testing, fitting, selecting, servicing, dispensing,
or selling 
of hearing instruments.

    "Fund" means the Hearing Instrument Dispenser Examining

and Disciplinary Fund.

    "Hearing Care Professional" means a person who is a 
licensed
audiologist, a licensed hearing instrument dispenser, 
or a licensed
physician.

(Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95.)

 
    (225 ILCS 50/9.5  new)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)
    Sec. 9.5. Trainees. 
    (a) In order to receive a trainee license, a person must 
apply to the Department and provide acceptable evidence of his 
or her completion of the required courses pursuant to 
subsection (e) of Section 8 of this Act, or its equivalent as 
determined by the Department. A trainee license expires 6 
months from the date of issue and is non-renewable. 
    (b) A trainee shall perform the functions of a hearing 
instrument dispenser in accordance with the Department rules 
and only under the direct supervision of a hearing instrument 
dispenser or audiologist who is licensed in the State. For the 
purposes of this Section, "direct supervision" means that  the 
licensed hearing instrument dispenser or audiologist shall 
give final approval to all work performed by the trainee and 
shall be physically present anytime the trainee has contact 
with the client. The licensed hearing instrument dispenser or 
audiologist is responsible for all of the work that is 
performed by the trainee.
    (c) The Department may limit the number of trainees that 
may be under the direct supervision of the same licensed 
hearing instrument dispenser or licensed audiologist.


    (d) The Department may establish a trainee licensing fee by 
rule.