HB127ENGROSSED
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HB127
J5MDFFF-2
By Representative Wilcox
RFD: Boards, Agencies and Commissions
First Read: 04-Feb-25
PFD: 03-Feb-25
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PFD: 03-Feb-25
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to the Alabama Sunset Law; to continue the
existence and functioning of the Board of Hearing Instrument
Dealers until October 1, 2029, with certain modifications; to
amend Section 34-14-30, Code of Alabama 1975, to require that
a board member resides in and be appointed from each
congressional district in this state and that any remaining
members be appointed from the state at-large.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Pursuant to the Alabama Sunset Law, the
Sunset Committee recommends the continuance of the Board of
Hearing Instrument Dealers until October 1, 2029, with
additional recommendation for statutory change as set out in
Section 3.
Section 2. The existence and functioning of the Board
of Hearing Instrument Dealers, created and functioning
pursuant to Sections 34-14-1 to 34-14-34, inclusive, Code of
Alabama 1975, is continued until October 1, 2029, and those
code sections are expressly preserved.
Section 3. Section 34-14-30, Code of Alabama 1975, is
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Section 3. Section 34-14-30, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"ยง34-14-30
(a) There is established a Board of Hearing Instrument
Dealers which shall administer this chapter.
(b)(1) Members of the board shall be citizens and
residents of the state and appointed by the Governor. The
membership of the board shall be inclusive and reflect the
racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural urban, rural, and
economic diversity of the state. Commencing on June 1, 2025,
as the terms of the members serving on the board expire, the
membership of the board shall be appointed so that one member
resides in and is appointed from each congressional district
in this state with the remaining members being appointed from
the state at-large.
(2) The board shall consist of eight members as
follows: Five licensees, one of whom may be a hearing aid
specialist, one physician who specializes in diseases of the
ear, one audiologist, and one consumer member. The consumer
member shall have the same powers as other board members,
except that the consumer member shall have no voting powers in
matters of issuing, suspending, or revoking licenses, and
neither the consumer member, nor his or her spouse, shall may
be a hearing aid specialist or hearing aid dispenser. Each
hearing aid specialist or hearing aid dispenser on the board
shall have no less than three years of experience and shall
hold a valid license as a hearing aid specialist or hearing
aid dispenser, as provided under this chapter. No member of
the board shall may be from the same business or firm of
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the board shall may be from the same business or firm of
another board member, and no member shall may be the spouse or
immediate family member of another board member.
(c) All members of the board shall be appointed by the
Governor from a list of qualified persons nominated by the
Alabama Society for Hearing Healthcare Providers. The term of
office of each member shall be for four years. Before a
member's term expires, the Governor shall appoint a successor
to assume his or her duties upon the expiration of his or her
predecessor's term. A vacancy in the office of a member shall
be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. The members
of the board shall annually designate one member to serve as
chair, another to serve as vice chair, and such other officers
the board deems necessary, including a complaints chair.
(d) No member of the board who has served two or more
full terms may be reappointed to the board until at least one
year after the expiration of his or her most recent full term
of office.
(e) Members of the board shall receive for each day
actually engaged in the duties of the office a per diem amount
of twenty-five dollars ($25), not to exceed the sum of one
thousand dollars ($1,000) per year, and reimbursement for
traveling expenses as provided in Article 2 of Chapter 7 of
Title 36, and other expenses, the remuneration and
reimbursement to be paid from appropriations made for this
purpose.
(f) The Governor may remove any member for neglect of
duty, incompetency, or unprofessional conduct. The board may
employ, and at its pleasure discharge, an executive secretary
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employ, and at its pleasure discharge, an executive secretary
and such officers and employees as may be necessary, and the
board shall fix their compensation."
Section 4. The Legislature concurs in the
recommendation of the Sunset Committee as provided in Sections
1, 2, and 3.
Section 5. This act shall become effective on June 1,
2025.
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2025.
House of Representatives
Read for the first time and referred
to the House of Representatives
committee on Boards, Agencies and
Commissions
................04-Feb-25
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
0 amendments
................05-Feb-25
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 103
Nays 0
Abstains 0
................06-Feb-25
John Treadwell
Clerk
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