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91_SB0368enr
SB368 Enrolled LRB9104241ACtm
1 AN ACT concerning audiologists.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. If and only if Senate Bill 1404 of the 91st
5 General Assembly becomes law, the Hearing Instrument Consumer
6 Protection Act is amended by changing Section 16 as follows:
7 (225 ILCS 50/16) (from Ch. 111, par. 7416)
8 Sec. 16. Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Board.
9 There shall be established a Hearing Instrument Consumer
10 Protection Board which shall assist, advise and make
11 recommendations to the Department.
12 The Board shall consist of 6 members who shall be
13 residents of Illinois. One shall be a licensed physician who
14 specializes in otology or otolaryngology; one shall be a
15 member of a consumer-oriented organization concerned with the
16 hearing impaired; one shall be from the general public,
17 preferably a senior citizen; and 2 3 shall be licensed
18 hearing instrument dispensers who are National Board
19 Certified Hearing Instrument Specialists; and, one shall be
20 of whom is a licensed audiologist. If a vote of the Board
21 results in a tie, the Director shall cast the deciding vote.
22 Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Director
23 after consultation with appropriate professional
24 organizations and consumer groups. The term of office of each
25 shall be 4 years. Before a member's term expires, the
26 Director shall appoint a successor to assume member's duties
27 at the expiration of his or her predecessor's term. A
28 vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired
29 term. The members shall annually designate one member as
30 chairman. No member of the Board who has served 2
31 successive, full terms may be reappointed. The Director may
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1 remove members for good cause.
2 Members of the Board shall receive reimbursement for
3 actual and necessary travel and for other expenses, not to
4 exceed the limit established by the Department.
5 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95; 91SB1404enr.)
6 Section 10. If and only if Senate Bill 1404 of the 91st
7 General Assembly becomes law, the Illinois Speech-Language
8 Pathology and Audiology Practice Act is amended by changing
9 Sections 4 and 16 as follows:
10 (225 ILCS 110/4) (from Ch. 111, par. 7904)
11 Sec. 4. Powers and duties of the Department. Subject to
12 the provisions of this Act, the Department shall exercise the
13 following functions, powers and duties:
14 (a) Conduct or authorize examinations to ascertain the
15 fitness and qualifications of applicants for license and
16 issue licenses to those who are found to be fit and
17 qualified.
18 (b) Prescribe rules and regulations for a method of
19 examination of candidates.
20 (c) Prescribe rules and regulations defining what shall
21 constitute an approved school, college or department of a
22 university, except that no school, college or department of a
23 university that refuses admittance to applicants solely on
24 account of race, color, creed, sex or national origin shall
25 be approved.
26 (d) Conduct hearings on proceedings to revoke, suspend,
27 or refusal to issue such licenses.
28 (e) Promulgate rules and regulations required for the
29 administration of this Act.
30 (f) Discipline the supervisor of a graduate audiology
31 student as provided in this Act for a violation by the
32 graduate audiology student.
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1 (g) Enforce the provisions of the Hearing Instrument
2 Consumer Protection Act and rules promulgated under the Act
3 as that Act and those rules apply to licensed audiologists
4 regulated by the Department.
5 (Source: P.A. 85-1391; 91SB1404enr.)
6 (225 ILCS 110/16) (from Ch. 111, par. 7916)
7 Sec. 16. Refusal, revocation or suspension of licenses.
8 (1) The Department may refuse to issue or renew, or may
9 revoke, suspend, place on probation, censure, reprimand or
10 take other disciplinary action as the Department may deem
11 proper, including fines not to exceed $5,000 for each
12 violation, with regard to any license for any one or
13 combination of the following causes:
14 (a) Fraud in procuring the license.
15 (b) Habitual intoxication or addiction to the use
16 of drugs.
17 (c) Willful or repeated violations of the rules of
18 the Department of Public Health.
19 (d) Division of fees or agreeing to split or divide
20 the fees received for speech-language pathology or
21 audiology services with any person for referring an
22 individual, or assisting in the care or treatment of an
23 individual, without the knowledge of the individual or
24 his or her legal representative.
25 (e) Employing, procuring, inducing, aiding or
26 abetting a person not licensed as a speech-language
27 pathologist or audiologist to engage in the unauthorized
28 practice of speech-language pathology or audiology.
29 (f) Making any misrepresentations or false
30 promises, directly or indirectly, to influence, persuade
31 or induce patronage.
32 (g) Professional connection or association with, or
33 lending his or her name to another for the illegal
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1 practice of speech-language pathology or audiology by
2 another, or professional connection or association with
3 any person, firm or corporation holding itself out in any
4 manner contrary to this Act.
5 (h) Obtaining or seeking to obtain checks, money,
6 or any other things of value by false or fraudulent
7 representations, including but not limited to, engaging
8 in such fraudulent practice to defraud the medical
9 assistance program of the Department of Public Aid.
10 (i) Practicing under a name other than his or her
11 own.
12 (j) Improper, unprofessional or dishonorable
13 conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud or harm
14 the public.
15 (k) Conviction in this or another state of any
16 crime which is a felony under the laws of this State or
17 conviction of a felony in a federal court, if the
18 Department determines, after investigation, that such
19 person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant
20 the public trust.
21 (1) Permitting a person under his or her
22 supervision to perform any function not authorized by
23 this Act.
24 (m) A violation of any provision of this Act or
25 rules promulgated thereunder.
26 (n) Revocation by another state, the District of
27 Columbia, territory, or foreign nation of a license to
28 practice speech-language pathology or audiology in its
29 jurisdiction if at least one of the grounds for that
30 revocation is the same as or the equivalent of one of the
31 grounds for revocation set forth herein.
32 (o) Willfully failing to report an instance of
33 suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the
34 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
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1 (p) Gross or repeated malpractice resulting in
2 injury or death of an individual.
3 (q) Willfully making or filing false records or
4 reports in his or her practice as a speech-language
5 pathologist or audiologist, including, but not limited
6 to, false records to support claims against the public
7 assistance program of the Illinois Department of Public
8 Aid.
9 (r) Professional incompetence as manifested by poor
10 standards of care or mental incompetence as declared by a
11 court of competent jurisdiction.
12 (s) Repeated irregularities in billing a third
13 party for services rendered to an individual. For
14 purposes of this Section, "irregularities in billing"
15 shall include:
16 (i) reporting excessive charges for the
17 purpose of obtaining a total payment in excess of
18 that usually received by the speech-language
19 pathologist or audiologist for the services
20 rendered;
21 (ii) reporting charges for services not
22 rendered; or
23 (iii) incorrectly reporting services rendered
24 for the purpose of obtaining payment not earned.
25 (t) (Blank).
26 (u) Violation of the Health Care Worker
27 Self-Referral Act.
28 (v) Physical illness, including but not limited to
29 deterioration through the aging process or loss of motor
30 skill, mental illness, or disability that results in the
31 inability to practice the profession with reasonable
32 judgment, skill, or safety.
33 (w) Violation of the Hearing Instrument Consumer
34 Protection Act.
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1 (2) The Department shall deny a license or renewal
2 authorized by this Act to any person who has defaulted on an
3 educational loan guaranteed by the Illinois State Scholarship
4 Commission; however, the Department may issue a license or
5 renewal if the aforementioned persons have established a
6 satisfactory repayment record as determined by the Illinois
7 State Scholarship Commission.
8 (3) The entry of an order by a circuit court
9 establishing that any person holding a license under this Act
10 is subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission as
11 provided for in the Mental Health and Developmental
12 Disabilities Code, operates as an automatic suspension of
13 that license. That person may have his or her license
14 restored only upon the determination by a circuit court that
15 the patient is no longer subject to involuntary admission or
16 judicial admission and the issuance of an order so finding
17 and discharging the patient, and upon the Board's
18 recommendation to the Department that the license be
19 restored. Where the circumstances so indicate, the Board may
20 recommend to the Department that it require an examination
21 prior to restoring any license automatically suspended under
22 this subsection.
23 (4) The Department may refuse to issue or may suspend
24 the license of any person who fails to file a return, or to
25 pay the tax, penalty, or interest shown in a filed return, or
26 to pay any final assessment of the tax penalty or interest,
27 as required by any tax Act administered by the Department of
28 Revenue, until such time as the requirements of any such tax
29 Act are satisfied.
30 (5) In enforcing this Section, the Board upon a showing
31 of a possible violation may compel an individual licensed to
32 practice under this Act, or who has applied for licensure
33 pursuant to this Act, to submit to a mental or physical
34 examination, or both, as required by and at the expense of
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1 the Department. The examining physicians or clinical
2 psychologists shall be those specifically designated by the
3 Board. The individual to be examined may have, at his or her
4 own expense, another physician or clinical psychologist of
5 his or her choice present during all aspects of this
6 examination. Failure of any individual to submit to a mental
7 or physical examination, when directed, shall be grounds for
8 suspension of his or her license until the individual submits
9 to the examination if the Board finds, after notice and
10 hearing, that the refusal to submit to the examination was
11 without reasonable cause.
12 If the Board finds an individual unable to practice
13 because of the reasons set forth in this Section, the Board
14 may require that individual to submit to care, counseling, or
15 treatment by physicians or clinical psychologists approved or
16 designated by the Board, as a condition, term, or restriction
17 for continued, reinstated, or renewed licensure to practice;
18 or, in lieu of care, counseling, or treatment, the Board may
19 recommend to the Department to file a complaint to
20 immediately suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline the
21 license of the individual. Any individual whose license was
22 granted, continued, reinstated, renewed, disciplined or
23 supervised subject to such terms, conditions, or
24 restrictions, and who fails to comply with such terms,
25 conditions, or restrictions, shall be referred to the
26 Director for a determination as to whether the individual
27 shall have his or her license suspended immediately, pending
28 a hearing by the Board.
29 In instances in which the Director immediately suspends a
30 person's license under this Section, a hearing on that
31 person's license must be convened by the Board within 15 days
32 after the suspension and completed without appreciable delay.
33 The Board shall have the authority to review the subject
34 individual's record of treatment and counseling regarding the
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1 impairment to the extent permitted by applicable federal
2 statutes and regulations safeguarding the confidentiality of
3 medical records.
4 An individual licensed under this Act and affected under
5 this Section shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate
6 to the Board that he or she can resume practice in compliance
7 with acceptable and prevailing standards under the provisions
8 of his or her license.
9 (Source: P.A. 90-69, eff. 7-8-97.)
10 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
11 January 1, 2001.
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