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    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2016)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