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91_SB0368ham001
LRB9104241ACcdam
1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 368
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend Senate Bill 368 by replacing
3 the title with the following:
4 "AN ACT concerning audiologists."; and
5 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
6 following:
7 "Section 5. If and only if Senate Bill 1404 of the 91st
8 General Assembly becomes law, the Hearing Instrument Consumer
9 Protection Act is amended by changing Section 16 as follows:
10 (225 ILCS 50/16) (from Ch. 111, par. 7416)
11 Sec. 16. Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Board.
12 There shall be established a Hearing Instrument Consumer
13 Protection Board which shall assist, advise and make
14 recommendations to the Department.
15 The Board shall consist of 6 members who shall be
16 residents of Illinois. One shall be a licensed physician who
17 specializes in otology or otolaryngology; one shall be a
18 member of a consumer-oriented organization concerned with the
19 hearing impaired; one shall be from the general public,
20 preferably a senior citizen; and 2 3 shall be licensed
21 hearing instrument dispensers who are National Board
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1 Certified Hearing Instrument Specialists; and, one shall be
2 of whom is a licensed audiologist. If a vote of the Board
3 results in a tie, the Director shall cast the deciding vote.
4 Members of the Board shall be appointed by the Director
5 after consultation with appropriate professional
6 organizations and consumer groups. The term of office of each
7 shall be 4 years. Before a member's term expires, the
8 Director shall appoint a successor to assume member's duties
9 at the expiration of his or her predecessor's term. A
10 vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired
11 term. The members shall annually designate one member as
12 chairman. No member of the Board who has served 2
13 successive, full terms may be reappointed. The Director may
14 remove members for good cause.
15 Members of the Board shall receive reimbursement for
16 actual and necessary travel and for other expenses, not to
17 exceed the limit established by the Department.
18 (Source: P.A. 89-72, eff. 12-31-95; 91SB1404enr.)
19 Section 10. If and only if Senate Bill 1404 of the 91st
20 General Assembly becomes law, the Illinois Speech-Language
21 Pathology and Audiology Practice Act is amended by changing
22 Sections 4 and 16 as follows:
23 (225 ILCS 110/4) (from Ch. 111, par. 7904)
24 Sec. 4. Powers and duties of the Department. Subject to
25 the provisions of this Act, the Department shall exercise the
26 following functions, powers and duties:
27 (a) Conduct or authorize examinations to ascertain the
28 fitness and qualifications of applicants for license and
29 issue licenses to those who are found to be fit and
30 qualified.
31 (b) Prescribe rules and regulations for a method of
32 examination of candidates.
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1 (c) Prescribe rules and regulations defining what shall
2 constitute an approved school, college or department of a
3 university, except that no school, college or department of a
4 university that refuses admittance to applicants solely on
5 account of race, color, creed, sex or national origin shall
6 be approved.
7 (d) Conduct hearings on proceedings to revoke, suspend,
8 or refusal to issue such licenses.
9 (e) Promulgate rules and regulations required for the
10 administration of this Act.
11 (f) Discipline the supervisor of a graduate audiology
12 student as provided in this Act for a violation by the
13 graduate audiology student.
14 (g) Enforce the provisions of the Hearing Instrument
15 Consumer Protection Act and rules promulgated under the Act
16 as that Act and those rules apply to licensed audiologists
17 regulated by the Department.
18 (Source: P.A. 85-1391; 91SB1404enr.)
19 (225 ILCS 110/16) (from Ch. 111, par. 7916)
20 Sec. 16. Refusal, revocation or suspension of licenses.
21 (1) The Department may refuse to issue or renew, or may
22 revoke, suspend, place on probation, censure, reprimand or
23 take other disciplinary action as the Department may deem
24 proper, including fines not to exceed $5,000 for each
25 violation, with regard to any license for any one or
26 combination of the following causes:
27 (a) Fraud in procuring the license.
28 (b) Habitual intoxication or addiction to the use
29 of drugs.
30 (c) Willful or repeated violations of the rules of
31 the Department of Public Health.
32 (d) Division of fees or agreeing to split or divide
33 the fees received for speech-language pathology or
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1 audiology services with any person for referring an
2 individual, or assisting in the care or treatment of an
3 individual, without the knowledge of the individual or
4 his or her legal representative.
5 (e) Employing, procuring, inducing, aiding or
6 abetting a person not licensed as a speech-language
7 pathologist or audiologist to engage in the unauthorized
8 practice of speech-language pathology or audiology.
9 (f) Making any misrepresentations or false
10 promises, directly or indirectly, to influence, persuade
11 or induce patronage.
12 (g) Professional connection or association with, or
13 lending his or her name to another for the illegal
14 practice of speech-language pathology or audiology by
15 another, or professional connection or association with
16 any person, firm or corporation holding itself out in any
17 manner contrary to this Act.
18 (h) Obtaining or seeking to obtain checks, money,
19 or any other things of value by false or fraudulent
20 representations, including but not limited to, engaging
21 in such fraudulent practice to defraud the medical
22 assistance program of the Department of Public Aid.
23 (i) Practicing under a name other than his or her
24 own.
25 (j) Improper, unprofessional or dishonorable
26 conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud or harm
27 the public.
28 (k) Conviction in this or another state of any
29 crime which is a felony under the laws of this State or
30 conviction of a felony in a federal court, if the
31 Department determines, after investigation, that such
32 person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant
33 the public trust.
34 (1) Permitting a person under his or her
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1 supervision to perform any function not authorized by
2 this Act.
3 (m) A violation of any provision of this Act or
4 rules promulgated thereunder.
5 (n) Revocation by another state, the District of
6 Columbia, territory, or foreign nation of a license to
7 practice speech-language pathology or audiology in its
8 jurisdiction if at least one of the grounds for that
9 revocation is the same as or the equivalent of one of the
10 grounds for revocation set forth herein.
11 (o) Willfully failing to report an instance of
12 suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the
13 Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
14 (p) Gross or repeated malpractice resulting in
15 injury or death of an individual.
16 (q) Willfully making or filing false records or
17 reports in his or her practice as a speech-language
18 pathologist or audiologist, including, but not limited
19 to, false records to support claims against the public
20 assistance program of the Illinois Department of Public
21 Aid.
22 (r) Professional incompetence as manifested by poor
23 standards of care or mental incompetence as declared by a
24 court of competent jurisdiction.
25 (s) Repeated irregularities in billing a third
26 party for services rendered to an individual. For
27 purposes of this Section, "irregularities in billing"
28 shall include:
29 (i) reporting excessive charges for the
30 purpose of obtaining a total payment in excess of
31 that usually received by the speech-language
32 pathologist or audiologist for the services
33 rendered;
34 (ii) reporting charges for services not
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1 rendered; or
2 (iii) incorrectly reporting services rendered
3 for the purpose of obtaining payment not earned.
4 (t) (Blank).
5 (u) Violation of the Health Care Worker
6 Self-Referral Act.
7 (v) Physical illness, including but not limited to
8 deterioration through the aging process or loss of motor
9 skill, mental illness, or disability that results in the
10 inability to practice the profession with reasonable
11 judgment, skill, or safety.
12 (w) Violation of the Hearing Instrument Consumer
13 Protection Act.
14 (2) The Department shall deny a license or renewal
15 authorized by this Act to any person who has defaulted on an
16 educational loan guaranteed by the Illinois State Scholarship
17 Commission; however, the Department may issue a license or
18 renewal if the aforementioned persons have established a
19 satisfactory repayment record as determined by the Illinois
20 State Scholarship Commission.
21 (3) The entry of an order by a circuit court
22 establishing that any person holding a license under this Act
23 is subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission as
24 provided for in the Mental Health and Developmental
25 Disabilities Code, operates as an automatic suspension of
26 that license. That person may have his or her license
27 restored only upon the determination by a circuit court that
28 the patient is no longer subject to involuntary admission or
29 judicial admission and the issuance of an order so finding
30 and discharging the patient, and upon the Board's
31 recommendation to the Department that the license be
32 restored. Where the circumstances so indicate, the Board may
33 recommend to the Department that it require an examination
34 prior to restoring any license automatically suspended under
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1 this subsection.
2 (4) The Department may refuse to issue or may suspend
3 the license of any person who fails to file a return, or to
4 pay the tax, penalty, or interest shown in a filed return, or
5 to pay any final assessment of the tax penalty or interest,
6 as required by any tax Act administered by the Department of
7 Revenue, until such time as the requirements of any such tax
8 Act are satisfied.
9 (5) In enforcing this Section, the Board upon a showing
10 of a possible violation may compel an individual licensed to
11 practice under this Act, or who has applied for licensure
12 pursuant to this Act, to submit to a mental or physical
13 examination, or both, as required by and at the expense of
14 the Department. The examining physicians or clinical
15 psychologists shall be those specifically designated by the
16 Board. The individual to be examined may have, at his or her
17 own expense, another physician or clinical psychologist of
18 his or her choice present during all aspects of this
19 examination. Failure of any individual to submit to a mental
20 or physical examination, when directed, shall be grounds for
21 suspension of his or her license until the individual submits
22 to the examination if the Board finds, after notice and
23 hearing, that the refusal to submit to the examination was
24 without reasonable cause.
25 If the Board finds an individual unable to practice
26 because of the reasons set forth in this Section, the Board
27 may require that individual to submit to care, counseling, or
28 treatment by physicians or clinical psychologists approved or
29 designated by the Board, as a condition, term, or restriction
30 for continued, reinstated, or renewed licensure to practice;
31 or, in lieu of care, counseling, or treatment, the Board may
32 recommend to the Department to file a complaint to
33 immediately suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline the
34 license of the individual. Any individual whose license was
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1 granted, continued, reinstated, renewed, disciplined or
2 supervised subject to such terms, conditions, or
3 restrictions, and who fails to comply with such terms,
4 conditions, or restrictions, shall be referred to the
5 Director for a determination as to whether the individual
6 shall have his or her license suspended immediately, pending
7 a hearing by the Board.
8 In instances in which the Director immediately suspends a
9 person's license under this Section, a hearing on that
10 person's license must be convened by the Board within 15 days
11 after the suspension and completed without appreciable delay.
12 The Board shall have the authority to review the subject
13 individual's record of treatment and counseling regarding the
14 impairment to the extent permitted by applicable federal
15 statutes and regulations safeguarding the confidentiality of
16 medical records.
17 An individual licensed under this Act and affected under
18 this Section shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate
19 to the Board that he or she can resume practice in compliance
20 with acceptable and prevailing standards under the provisions
21 of his or her license.
22 (Source: P.A. 90-69, eff. 7-8-97.)
23 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
24 January 1, 2001.".
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