Rule Proosal

VOLUME 48, ISSUE 17
ISSUE DATE: SEPTEMBER 6, 2016
RULE PROPOSALS
LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY
DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS
HEARING AID DISPENSERS EXAMINING COMMITTEE

Proposed Amendment: N.J.A.C. 13:35-8.20

Click here to view Interested Persons Statement

License Renewal; Continuing Education Requirement
 
Authorized By: Hearing Aid Dispensers Examining Committee, Renee Clark, Executive Director.
 
Authority: N.J.S.A. 45:9A-7.
 
Calendar Reference: See Summary below for explanation of exception to calendar requirement.
 
Proposal Number: PRN 2016-146.
 
Submit written comments by November 5, 2016, to:
 
   Renee Clark, Executive Director
   Hearing Aid Dispensers Examining Committee
   Division of Consumer Affairs
   124 Halsey Street
   PO Box 45002
   Newark, New Jersey 07101
   or electronically at: http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Proposals/Pages/default.aspx.
 
The agency proposal follows:
 
Summary

The Hearing Aid Dispensers Examining Committee (Committee) proposes to amend N.J.A.C. 13:35-8.20 to permit no more than 10 of the required 20 course hours of continuing education to be completed online. The Committee believes that personal interaction, which is a major component of practice when dispensing hearing aids to a patient and which is not possible for online courses, should be a component of at least half a licensee's continuing education experience.

The Committee proposes to further amend N.J.A.C. 13:35-8.20 to provide the correct name for the International Institute for Hearing Instrument Studies (IIHIS). The rule currently requires that course content be accepted and approved by the IIHIS, the educational arm of the International Hearing Society (IHS) and the Committee. The IIHIS is the educational arm of the IHS and the Committee proposes to delete reference to the IHS as it is repetitive. The Committee does not believe that a course should have to be approved by both the IIHIS and the Committee and is amending the rule so that a course need only be approved by the IIHIS.

As the Board has provided a 60-day comment period on this notice of proposal, this notice is excepted from the rulemaking calendar requirement pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a)5.
 
Social Impact

The proposed amendments will benefit society because limiting online continuing education courses to one-half of the required continuing education hours will ensure that personal interaction is a component of a licensee's continuing education. This will result in licensees who are better prepared to provide services to the public.
 
Economic Impact

By recognizing that a continuing education course needs only to obtain approval from the IIHIS, the proposed amendments will reduce costs for obtaining approval of continuing education courses. These savings will most likely be passed on to licensees who attend these courses. The proposed amendments will not impose any other economic impact.
 
Federal Standards Statement

A Federal standards analysis is not required because there are no Federal laws or standards applicable to the proposed amendments.
 
Jobs Impact

The Committee does not anticipate that the proposed amendments will increase or decrease the number of jobs in the State.
 
Agriculture Industry Impact

The proposed amendments will have no impact on the agriculture industry in the State.
 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

Since hearing aid dispensers are individually licensed by the Committee, they may be considered "small businesses" under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-16 et seq.

The proposed amendments impose no new costs on businesses. The Committee does not believe that licensees will need to employ any professional services to comply with the proposed amendments. The proposed amendments do not impose any reporting or recordkeeping requirements, but impose compliance requirements as discussed in the Summary above.

As the proposed amendments ensure that licensees complete continuing education courses that have personal interaction, helping to ensure that licensees are better prepared to provide services to the public, no differing compliance requirements are provided for any licensees based on the size of their businesses.
 
Housing Affordability Impact Analysis

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on the affordability of housing in New Jersey and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the amendments would evoke a change in the average costs associated with housing because the proposed amendments concern continuing education requirements for licensed hearing aid dispensers.
 
Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on smart growth and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the amendments would evoke a change in housing production in Planning Areas 1 or 2, or within designated centers, under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in New Jersey because the proposed amendments concern continuing education requirements for licensed hearing aid dispensers.
 
Full text of the proposal follows (additions indicated in boldface thus; deletions indicated in brackets [thus]):
 
SUBCHAPTER 8.    HEARING AID DISPENSERS
 
13:35-8.20    License renewal; continuing education requirement
 
(a) (No change.)
 
(b) Evidence of 20 documented course hours of continuing education, of which no more than 10 may be completed online, shall be required of each applicant as a condition of biennial license renewal.
 
(c) The number of creditable course hours and course contents must be accepted and approved by the [National] International Institute for Hearing Instruments Studies ([NIHIS] IIHIS)[, the educational arm of the International Hearing Society (IHS), and the Committee]. A licensee who completes a three or more credit course in hearing aid dispensing at an accredited college or university shall upon the approval of the Committee receive credit for 10 continuing education course hours.
 
(d)-(e) (No change.)