[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
| [ Introduced ] | [ Engrossed ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
| [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
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;and23shall be licensed 18 hearing instrument dispensers who are National Board 19 Certified Hearing Instrument Specialists; and,one shall be 20of whom isa 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 SB368 Enrolled -2- LRB9104241ACtm 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. SB368 Enrolled -3- LRB9104241ACtm 1(g) Enforce the provisions of the Hearing Instrument2Consumer Protection Act and rules promulgated under the Act3as that Act and those rules apply to licensed audiologists4regulated 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 SB368 Enrolled -4- LRB9104241ACtm 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. SB368 Enrolled -5- LRB9104241ACtm 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. SB368 Enrolled -6- LRB9104241ACtm 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 SB368 Enrolled -7- LRB9104241ACtm 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 SB368 Enrolled -8- LRB9104241ACtm 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.