Sunset Bill Passes 
With only a few days remaining in the regular session of the 82nd Texas Legislature, the House of Representatives passes SB 663, ending the extensive review of the licensing act for hearing aid dispensers that begin over a year ago.
Before passing the House, the bill was amended to ensure the State Committee of Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Instruments will maintain oversight of the administrative duties of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) contained in the bill. The amendment was made at the request of Rep. Tracy O. King (right), a THAA past president, and resolved a major issue of concern with the legislation.
Gov. Rick Perry signed the bill into law on June 17. It becomes effective on September 1, however, several provisions of the bill will not become effective until 2012 (see Explanation of Different Effective Dates of Legislation in left column).
The final bill contains all three of THAA's main sunset objectives — (1) continuation of the dispenser licensing act, (2) no merger of the dispenser and audiology licensing boards, and (3) no change in the scope of practice for either dispensers or audiologists.
Concerning the first objective, the bill calls for the expiration date of the dispenser licensing act, Chapter 402 of the Texas Occupations Code, to be extended from September 1 of this year to September 1, 2017, when all other professional licenses issued by DSHS will come under sunset review. Without this provision, the dispenser licensing act would have expired on September 1.
Concerning the other two objectives,, the new legislation does not contain any provisions to merge the dispenser and audiology licensing boards at DSHS, or to change the scope of operations (professional services) currently authorized under either license. In short, nothing concerning the current daily operations of a licensed dispenser was changed by this legislation.
The biggest changes will affect license renewal. First, the bill reduces the number of CE hours required to renew a license from 40 hours to 20 hours every two years. However, this provision does not become effective until May 1, 2012. For a complete explanation of how this new provision will affect your next renewal, click on Explanation of New CE Requirements in the left column. Second, the bill requires all current licensees to submit a complete set of fingerprints for the purpose of performing a criminal history check at the time of their next license renewal. Licensees are required to pay this one-time fingerprinting charge, as well.
Also, the bill calls for the dispenser and audiology licensing boards at DSHS to develop joint rules covering the 30-day trial period, content of written contracts, and required record keeping for patients. Both licensing boards will be working together for the first time to develop these joint rules, which have to be published and effective by May 1, 2012.
Most of the other changes in the bill affect the operation of the State Licensing Committee and DSHS. Licensees will notice little change, if any all, from these legislative provisions.
A more detailed explanation and analysis of the content of the bill, and how it will affect licensed dispensers, is provided in the links to the left. For answers to questions, members can contact the THAA staff at the number above or email their questions to info@texashearingaids.org.
