2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 24
BY SENATOR POPE
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 37:2455(B)(1) and the introductory paragraph of 2455(B)(5)(a)
3 and (5)(b) and 2465, relative to the Louisiana Board for Hearing Aid Dealers; to
4 provide for certain qualifications for board membership; to provide for updated
5 terminology; to provide for licensing requirements; and to provide for related
6 matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 37:2455(B)(1) and the introductory paragraph of 2455(B)(5)(a) and
9 (5)(b) and 2465 are hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
10 §2455. Louisiana Board for Hearing Aid Dealers; composition; districts
11 * * *
12 B.(1) The board shall be composed of nine members. Seven members shall
13 be hearing aid dealers, the eighth shall be the state health officer or his
14 representative, and the ninth member shall be sixty fifty years of age or over and
15 shall serve as a representative of the elderly hearing aid consumers of Louisiana.
16 The seven hearing aid dealers shall be appointed in the following manner. The
17 Louisiana Society of Hearing Aid Specialists, chartered by the state, shall submit to
18 the governor names of not less than fourteen qualified hearing aid dealers, who shall
19 be actively engaged in the selling and fitting of hearing aids. The governor shall
20 ensure that his appointments demonstrate race, gender, ethnic, and geographical
21 diversity.
22 * * *
23 (5)(a) The elderly hearing aid consumer representative shall be appointed
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1 by the governor and the appointment shall be subject to Senate confirmation. The
2 elderly consumer representative shall serve at the pleasure of the governor and any
3 vacancy shall be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. The elderly consumer
4 member shall be selected from the state at large and shall possess all of the following
5 qualifications:
6 * * *
7 (b) The elderly consumer member shall be a full voting member of the board,
8 except that the consumer member shall not participate in the grading of individual
9 examinations.
10 * * *
11 §2465. Licensing requirements; applicability
12 A. Any person who owns, maintains, or operates an office or place of
13 business in which the person employs or engages under contract a person who
14 practices the selling and fitting of hearing aids is considered to be practicing the
15 selling and fitting of hearing aids as provided in this Chapter and is required to be
16 licensed in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.
17 B. If the person who owns, maintains, or operates an office or place of
18 business described in Subsection A of this Section is a partnership, each partner shall
19 be licensed as provided by this Section. If the person who owns, maintains, or
20 operates an office or place of business described in Subsection A of this Section is
21 a corporation or other legal entity, the chief executive officer of the corporation or
22 legal entity shall be licensed as provided by this Chapter.
23 C.(1) All persons licensed pursuant to the requirements of this Section shall
24 file annually on or before the first day of the calendar year with the board a list of all
25 licensed hearing aid dealers directly or indirectly employed by it, and shall also file
26 with the board a statement on a form approved by the board that it submits itself to
27 the rules and regulations of the board and the provisions of this Chapter, and. An
28 organization shall register with the board its intention to engage in the selling and
29 fitting of hearing aids or accessories, provided that the above is completed prior to
30 such the organization selling or offering for sale hearing aids or accessories.
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1 (2) Any such organization or employee of such organization may cause a
2 revocation or suspension of the registration of such organization by the board by
3 committing any of the acts listed as causes for revocation or suspension in R.S.
4 37:2453.
5 B. The board may revoke or suspend the registration of an organization
6 if the organization or an employee of the organization commits any of the acts
7 listed as causes for revocation or suspension in R.S. 37:2453.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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