Hearing aids: locked programming software: notice.

Existing law, the Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists and Hearing Aid Dispensers Licensure Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and hearing aid dispensers by the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. A violation of the act is a crime. Existing law requires a licensed hearing aid dispenser or a licensed audiologist, upon the consummation of the sale of a hearing aid, to deliver to the purchaser a written receipt containing specified information, including, among other things, the address and office hours at which the licensee is available for servicing of the hearing aid and the terms of any guarantee or written warranty. Existing law requires a licensed hearing aid dispenser or a licensed audiologist to maintain certain records, including a copy of the written receipt, for 7 years and to permit inspection by the board upon reasonable notice. This bill would refer to a licensed dispensing audiologist instead of a licensed audiologist in the above-described provisions. The bill would require a licensed hearing aid dispenser or a licensed dispensing audiologist, before the consummation of the sale of a hearing aid that uses proprietary programming software or locked, nonproprietary software, as those terms are defined, to provide the purchaser with a written notice in 12-point type or larger that contains specified language informing the purchaser that the hearing aid can only be serviced or programmed at specific facilities or locations. The bill would require the written notice to be signed by the purchaser before the sale and would require the licensed hearing aid dispenser or a licensed dispensing audiologist to maintain a copy of the notice in accordance with the record-keeping requirements described above. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.