Maine LD 1413: Resolve, Regarding Sober Living Transitional Assistance

Bill Text

Page 1 - 132LR2118(03)
STATE OF MAINE
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IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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S.P. 552 - L.D. 1413
An Act to Amend Laws Governing Hearing Aid Dealers to Allow an
Exception to Certain Hearing Examination Requirements
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §17305, sub-§6, ¶K, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 369, Pt. C, §3
and affected by §5, is amended to read:
K. A Except as authorized in this paragraph, a dealer-licensee may not sell or furnish
a hearing aid to a person 18 years of age or younger without a written statement, signed
by a physician with specialized training in the field of otolaryngology, that the person
has had an ear or hearing examination within 90 days of the purchase or furnishing of
the hearing aid and that a hearing aid is recommended for the person. The board shall
adopt rules for the requirements for reexamination. Rules adopted pursuant to this
paragraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
The board shall by rule list and define certain medical conditions affecting hearing. If
a dealer has notice of the existence of one or more of the conditions in the case of a
prospective purchaser of a hearing aid, whether by the dealer-licensee’s observation of
the prospective purchaser or by information furnished by the prospective purchaser,
fitting of the hearing aid must be delayed until the purchaser has had an ear or hearing
examination administered by a physician with specialized training in the field of
otolaryngology or by an audiologist who, as a result of such an examination,
recommends in writing a hearing aid for the prospective purchaser. Unless prohibited
by federal law or regulation, a dealer-licensee may sell or furnish a replacement hearing
aid of the same specifications as the original hearing aid to a prospective purchaser of
any age without evidence that the prospective purchaser has had a recent ear or hearing
examination if the prospective purchaser typically wears or is currently using a hearing
aid; is seeking to replace a recently lost, stolen, broken or failing hearing aid; and is
unable to attend a hearing examination because the prospective purchaser is too ill or
infirm to do so safely.
Nothing in this This chapter may not be construed to require an ear or hearing
examination by a physician or audiologist of a person who objects to the examination
APPROVED
MAY 30, 2025
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
166
PUBLIC LAW

Page 2 - 132LR2118(03)
on the grounds that the examination conflicts with the tenets and practices of a church
or religious denomination of which the person is a member or adherent.