North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina Senate Bill S654 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
2	2		SESSION 2025
3		-	S 1
4		-	SENATE BILL 654
	3	+	S D
	4	+	SENATE BILL DRS15293-NN-50A
	5	+
5	6
6	7
7	8		Short Title: End Dual Licensure for Audiologists. (Public)
8	9		Sponsors: Senator Sawrey (Primary Sponsor).
9		-	Referred to: ~~Rules and Operations of the Senate~~
10		-	~~March 26, 2025~~
11		-	~~S654 -v-1~~
	10	+	Referred to:
	11	+
	12	+	DRS15293 -NN-50A
12	13		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
13	14		AN ACT TO MODERNIZE AUDIOLOGY LICENSURE STATUTES BY ELIMINATING 2
14	15		DUAL LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS AND TO REQUIRE DISCLOSURE TO 3
15	16		CONSUMERS WHEN PURCHASING LOCKED HEARING AIDS. 4
16	17		Whereas, it is the intention of the North Carolina General Assembly to promote the 5
17	18		health and welfare of the citizens of this State; and 6
18	19		Whereas, it is the intention of the North Carolina General Assembly to reduce or 7
19	20		eliminate regulatory burdens on businesses; and 8
20	21		Whereas, it is the intention of the North Carolina General Assembly that statutes 9
21	22		governing the profession of audiology reflect current practices, improvements, and other 10
22	23		developments that have occurred in the profession; and 11
23	24		Whereas, the current statutory language does not fully encompass current practices, 12
24	25		improvements, and other developments; Now, therefore, 13
25	26		The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 14
26	27		SECTION 1.(a) Dual Licensure for Audiologists, Audiology Technicians, and 15
27	28		Audiology Assistants Ended. – G.S. 93D-14 reads as rewritten: 16
28	29		"§ 93D-14. Persons not affected. 17
29	30		(a) Nothing in this Chapter shall apply to a physician licensed to practice medicine or 18
30	31		surgery in the State of North Carolina. 19
31	32		(b) Any person who meets the requirements of having both a doctoral degree in 20
32	33		Audiology and holding a valid permanent unrestricted license as an audiologist audiologist, 21
33	34		audiology assistant, or certified technician under Article 22 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes 22
34	35		of North Carolina is exempt from licensure under this Chapter. A person who does not meet both 23
35	36		requirements of having a doctoral degree in Audiology and holding a valid permanent license as 24
36	37		an audiologist under Article 22 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes of North Carolina must 25
37	38		become a registered apprentice or be licensed by the Board before fitting or selling hearing aids 26
38	39		in the State of North Carolina. 27
39	40		(c) Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to exempt an audiology assistant or 28
40	41		certified technician, working under the supervision of a licensee or a person exempt from 29
41	42		licensure under this Chapter, from being subject to the provisions of this Chapter. Such a person, 30
42	43		before engaging in fitting or selling hearing aids, as defined in this Chapter, must be registered 31
43	44		as an apprentice under a Registered Sponsor or be licensed by the Board. 32
44	45		(d) The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to the activities and services of an 33
45	46		audiology student pursuing a course of study in an accredited college or university, if these 34
46	47		activities and services constitute a part of such person's course of study." 35
47		-	SECTION 1.(b) Effective date. – This section is effective when it becomes law. 36 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
48		-	Page 2 Senate Bill 654-First Edition
	48	+	SECTION 1.(b) Effective date. – This section is effective when it becomes law. 36
	49	+	FILED SENATE
	50	+	Mar 25, 2025
	51	+	S.B. 654
	52	+	PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
	53	+	Page 2 DRS15293-NN-50A
49	54		SECTION 2.(a) Locked Hearing Aid Disclosures for Hearing Aid Fitters and 1
50	55		Dealers. – Chapter 93D of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read: 2
51	56		"§ 93D-7.1. Disclosure of locked hearing aid software; additional disclosures and record 3
52	57		keeping. 4
53	58		(a) Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this section: 5
54	59		(1) Locked hearing aid. – A hearing aid that uses either proprietary programming 6
55	60		software or locked, nonproprietary programming software that restricts 7
56	61		programming or servicing of the device to specific facilities or providers 8
57	62		(2) Locked, nonproprietary programming software. – Software that any provider 9
58	63		or seller can render inaccessible to other hearing aid programmers. 10
59	64		(3) Proprietary programming software. – Software used to program hearing aids 11
60	65		that is supplied by a hearing aid distributor or manufacturer for exclusive use 12
61	66		by affiliated providers or sellers. This software is locked and inaccessible to 13
62	67		nonaffiliated providers or sellers. 14
63	68		(b) Disclosure of Locked Programming Software. – To the extent not inconsistent with 15
64	69		federal law, any person licensed under this Chapter who sells locked hearing aids shall, before 16
65	70		consummating the sale of any locked hearing aid, provide the purchaser with a written notice, in 17
66	71		12-point type or larger, stating: 18
67	72		"The hearing aid being purchased uses proprietary or locked programming software and can 19
68	73		only be serviced or programmed at specific facilities or locations." 20
69	74		The purchaser shall sign the notice prior to sale completion. The seller shall retain a copy of 21
70	75		the signed notice for at least seven years, subject to the conditions of subsection (d) of this section. 22
71	76		(c) Written Receipt of Sale. – Upon consummation of a sale of a locked hearing aid, in 23
72	77		addition to complying with G.S. 93D-7, the licensee shall deliver to the purchaser a written 24
73	78		receipt signed by or on behalf of the licensee, containing all of the following information: 25
74	79		(1) The date of consummation of the sale. 26
75	80		(2) The make, model number, and serial number of the hearing aid sold. 27
76	81		(3) Whether the hearing aid is new, used, or reconditioned. 28
77	82		(4) The licensee's name and license number, and the name and license number of 29
78	83		any other hearing aid dispenser, apprentice, temporary licensee, or trainee 30
79	84		licensee who provided any recommendation or consultation regarding the 31
80	85		purchase. 32
81	86		(5) The address of the principal place of business of the licensee, and the address 33
82	87		and office hours at which the licensee shall be available for fitting or 34
83	88		post-fitting adjustments and servicing of the hearing aid sold. 35
84	89		(6) The terms of any guarantee or written warranty made to the purchaser with 36
85	90		respect to the hearing aid. 37
86	91		If multiple locked hearing aids are sold in a single transaction, a single written notice under 38
87	92		subsection (b) and a single written receipt under subsection (c) may be used to satisfy the 39
88	93		requirements of this section, provided that the required information for each hearing aid sold is 40
89	94		clearly documented. 41
90	95		(d) Record Keeping. – The licensee shall maintain, for a period of at least seven years 42
91	96		after the sale, the following records for each hearing aid sold: 43
92	97		(1) A copy of the written notice described in subsection (b) of this section as 44
93	98		signed by the purchaser. 45
94	99		(2) A copy of the written receipt described in subsection (c) of this section. 46
95	100		(3) The results of any audiologic tests or measurements performed as part of the 47
96	101		fitting and dispensing of the hearing aid or aids. 48
97	102		(4) A copy of any written recommendations prepared as part of the fitting and 49
98	103		dispensing of the hearing aid or aids. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
99		-	~~Senate Bill 654-First Edition~~ Page 3
	104	+	DRS15293-NN-50A Page 3
100	105		These records shall be kept at the licensee's principal place of practice and shall be made 1
101	106		available for inspection by the Board." 2
102	107		SECTION 2.(b) Rulemaking. – The North Carolina State Hearing Aid Dealers and 3
103	108		Fitters Board may adopt rules to implement subsection (a) of this section. 4
104	109		SECTION 3.(a) Locked Hearing Aid Disclosures for Audiologists. – Article 22 of 5
105	110		Chapter 90 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read: 6
106	111		"§ 90-308. Disclosure of locked hearing aid software by audiologists; receipt and record 7
107	112		requirements. 8
108	113		(a) Disclosure of Locked Programming Software. – To the extent not inconsistent with 9
109	114		federal law, a licensed audiologist who engages in the fitting or selling of locked hearing aids, as 10
110	115		defined in G.S. 93D-7.1(a)(1), shall, before consummating the sale of any locked hearing aid, 11
111	116		provide the purchasing patient with a written notice in at least 12-point type stating: 12
112	117		"The hearing aid being purchased uses proprietary or locked programming software and can 13
113	118		only be serviced or programmed at specific facilities or locations." 14
114	119		This notice must be signed by the purchasing patient prior to sale completion. The audiologist 15
115	120		shall retain a copy of the signed notice in the patient's file in addition to the record requirements 16
116	121		of subsection (c) of this section. 17
117	122		(b) Receipt of Sale. – Upon the consummation of a sale of a locked hearing aid, in 18
118	123		addition to complying with G.S. 93D-7, the audiologist shall give the purchasing patient a written 19
119	124		receipt, signed by or on behalf of the audiologist, containing all of the following information: 20
120	125		(1) The date of consummation of the sale. 21
121	126		(2) The make, model, and serial number of the hearing aid sold. 22
122	127		(3) Whether the hearing aid is new, used, or reconditioned. 23
123	128		(4) The audiologist's name and license number. If any other hearing care 24
124	129		professionals licensed under this Article, such as another audiologist or 25
125	130		temporary licensee, provided any recommendation or consultation for the 26
126	131		purchase, their name and applicable license number shall also be noted. 27
127	132		(5) The address of the principal place of business of the audiologist, and the 28
128	133		address and office hours at which the audiologist shall be available for fitting 29
129	134		or post-fitting adjustments and servicing of the hearing aid sold. 30
130	135		(6) The terms of any guarantee or written warranty made to the purchasing patient 31
131	136		with respect to the hearing aid. 32
132	137		If multiple locked hearing aids are sold in a single transaction, a single written notice under 33
133	138		subsection (a) and a single written receipt under subsection (b) may be used to satisfy the 34
134	139		requirements of this section, provided that the required information for each hearing aid sold is 35
135	140		clearly documented. 36
136	141		(c) Record Keeping. – A licensed audiologist shall maintain, for a period of at least seven 37
137	142		years after the sale, the following records for each locked hearing aid transaction: 38
138	143		(1) A copy of the written notice described in subsection (a) of this section as 39
139	144		signed by the purchasing patient. 40
140	145		(2) A copy of the written receipt described in subsection (b) of this section. 41
141	146		(3) The results of any audiologic tests or measurements performed as part of the 42
142	147		fitting and dispensing of the locked hearing aid or aids. 43
143	148		(4) A copy of any written recommendations prepared as part of the fitting and 44
144	149		dispensing of the hearing aid or aids. 45
145	150		These records shall be kept at the audiologist's principal place of practice and shall be made 46
146	151		available for inspection by the Board." 47
147	152		SECTION 3.(b) Rulemaking. – The North Carolina Board of Examiners for Speech 48
148	153		and Language Pathologists and Audiologists may adopt rules to implement subsection (a) of this 49
149	154		section. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
150		-	Page 4 ~~Senate Bill 654-First Edition~~
	155	+	Page 4 DRS15293-NN-50A
151	156		SECTION 4. Effective Date. Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes 1
152	157		effective October 1, 2025. 2