West Virginia 2021 Regular Session Status: Enacted 1 R cosponsors

SB 644 — Exempting certain persons pursuing degree in speech pathology and audiology from license requirements

Last action — Chapter 199, Acts, Regular Session, 2021

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed House of Delegates
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 15, 2021. Enacted.

Prognosis

Advancing 40% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).

  • Failed a recorded vote

    Failed 1 recorded vote so far — a real headwind.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

139 added · 9 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amended version of the bill SB 644 removes the creation of an exemption for individuals pursuing courses in speech-language pathology or audiology, which would have allowed them to engage in certain practices related to hearing aids without a license. Additionally, it clarifies that state or local governmental organizations and not-for-profit organizations are not eligible for licensure to fit and dispense hearing aids. These changes ensure that only licensed professionals are involved in the fitting and dispensing of hearing aids, which aims to protect consumers and maintain standards in hearing health care.

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Latest
SB644 HFAT Pack 4-2 CR 3338   Delegate Pack moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:
SB 644 Text skip navigation SENATE PRESIDENT SENATORS COMMITTEES VIDEO/AUDIO DISTRICT MAPS SENATE CLERK SENATE RULES HOUSE SPEAKER DELEGATES COMMITTEES VIDEO/AUDIO DISTRICT MAPS HOUSE CLERK HOUSE RULES HOUSE STAFF JOINT INTERIM COMMITTEES LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATOR LEGISLATIVE SERVICES DIVISION PUBLIC INFORMATION LEGISLATIVE AUTOMATED SYSTEMS DIVISION LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR'S OFFICE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION & RESEARCH DIVISION POST AUDIT DIVISION BUDGET DIVISION REGULATORY AND FISCAL AFFAIRS DIVISION CLAIMS COMMISSION CRIME VICTIMS RULE-MAKING REVIEW SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS JUDICIAL COMP.
Eng.
COMMISSION JOINT RULES STAFF INFO BILL STATUS BILL STATUS BILL TRACKING STATE LAW WEST VIRGINIA CODE ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE CODE OF 1931 WV CONSTITUTION US CONSTITUTION REPORTS AGENCY REPORTS AGENCY GRANT AWARDS PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS POST AUDITS EDUCATIONAL CITIZEN’S GUIDE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM PAGE PROGRAM PUBLICATIONS PHOTO GALLERY CAPITOL HISTORY HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW CONTACT SENATE ROSTER HOUSE ROSTER PUBLIC INFO.
Senate Bill No.
NEWS RELEASES HELPFUL LINKS Enrolled Version - Final Version « Senate Bill 644 History OTHER VERSIONS  —  Introduced Version  |   |  Email Key:
644 -- "A Bill to amend and reenact §30-26-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing an exemption to the hearing-aid dealer license.
Green = existing Code.
      Adopted Rejected  
Red = new code to be enacted WEST virginia legislature regular session Enrolled Senate Bill 644 By Senator Weld [Passed April 6, 2021;
in effect 90 days from passage] AN ACT to amend and reenact §30-26-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing an exemption to the hearing-aid dealer license.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
Article 26.  Hearing aid dealers and fitters.
§30-26-2.
Engaging in practice of hearing-aid dealer or trainee without license prohibited;
exceptions.
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (e) hereof no person shall, on or after the effective date of this article, engage in the practice of dealing in or fitting of hearing aids, either as a hearing-aid dealer, fitter, or as a trainee, nor shall any person advertise or assume any such practice, without first being licensed or otherwise qualified under the provisions of this article.
(b) If the applicant is a partnership, trust, association, corporation, or other like organization, the application, in addition to such other information as the board may require, shall be accompanied by an application for a license for each person, whether owner or employee, of such applicant who serves in the capacity of a hearing-aid dealer or fitter, or shall contain a statement that such applications for all such persons are submitted separately.
No partnership, trust, association, corporation, or other like organization shall permit any unlicensed person to sell hearing aids or to engage in the practice of dealing in, or fitting of, hearing aids.
(c) This article is not intended to prevent any person who is not licensed under this article from engaging in the practice of measuring human hearing for the purpose of selection of hearing aids, provided such person or organization employing such person does not sell hearing aids or accessories thereto, except in the case of earmolds to be used only for the purpose of audiologic evaluation.
(d) State or local governmental organizations or agencies and organizations chartered as not-for-profit shall not be eligible for licensure to fit and dispense hearing aids.
(e) The activities and services of persons pursuing a course of study leading to a degree in audiology at a college or university is exempt from licensure if:
(A) These activities and services constitute a part of a planned course of study at that institution;
(B) They are designated by a title such as intern, trainee, student, or other title clearly indicating the status appropriate to their level of education;
and (C) They work under the supervision of a person licensed by this state to practice audiology.
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Action History

  1. Chapter 199, Acts, Regular Session, 2021

  2. Approved by Governor 4/15/21

  3. Approved by Governor 4/15/21 - House Journal

  4. Approved by Governor 4/15/21 - Senate Journal

  5. To Governor 4/8/21 - House Journal

  6. To Governor 4/8/21

  7. House received Senate message

  8. Completed legislative action

  9. Communicated to House

  10. Senate concurred in House amendments and passed bill (Roll No. 319)

  11. House Message received

  12. Communicated to Senate

  13. Title amendment adopted (Voice vote)

  14. Passed House (Roll No. 435)

  15. Read 3rd time

  16. On 3rd reading, Special Calendar

  17. Amendment adopted (Voice vote)

  18. Committee amendment adopted (Voice vote)

  19. Read 2nd time

  20. On 2nd reading, Special Calendar

  21. Read 1st time

  22. On 1st reading, Special Calendar

  23. With amendment, do pass

  24. To House Health and Human Resources

  25. To Health and Human Resources

  26. Introduced in House

  27. Ordered to House

  28. Passed Senate (Roll No. 196)

  29. Read 3rd time

  30. On 3rd reading

  31. Read 2nd time

  32. Laid over on 2nd reading 3/23/21

  33. On 2nd reading

  34. Read 1st time

  35. On 1st reading

  36. Reported do pass

  37. To Health and Human Resources

  38. Introduced in Senate

  39. To Health and Human Resources

  40. Filed for introduction

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 151 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (151)

151 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 151 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Subjects

labor education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 644?
SB 644 is sponsored by Ryan Weld (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 644?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 15, 2021. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 644?
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