New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII,
Issue 22 / November 30, 2021
NOTICE OF PUBLIC
RULE HEARING AND REGULAR BOARD MEETING
The
New Mexico Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and
Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices Board (Board) will hold a rule hearing on
Thursday, December 30, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. Due to the ongoing public health
concerns posed by the threat of the contagious disease Covid-19, the rule
hearing will be virtual via an Internet video conference and via telephone.
Following the rule hearing, the Board will convene a regular board meeting to consider adoption of the rules and
address regular business.
The
rule hearing and board meeting will be held via Cisco Webex
Meetings:
https://nmrld.webex.com/nmrld/onstage/g.php?MTID=e2fbf7ebfce634190bf0c6244209c4c47
Meeting
number (access code): 2487 691 1171
To
join the meeting by phone:
1-415-655-0002
United States Toll
The
purpose of the rule hearing is to consider proposed amendments to the following
rules:
16.26.2
NMAC – Licensure
Requirements
16.26.7
NMAC – Grounds for Disciplinary Action
16.26.11 NMAC – Licensure for Military
Service Members, Spouses and Veterans
On
November 30, 2021, to obtain and review copies of the proposed rule amendments
you may go to the Board’s website at: https://www.rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/speech-language-pathology-audiology-and-hearing-aid-dispensing-practices/slp-rules-and-laws/
or contact the Sue Sneeringer, Board Administrator at (505) 476-4646 or by
email at speech.hearing@state.nm.us.
The
Board will begin accepting public comments on the proposed amendments on
November 30, 2021. Please submit written comments on the proposed changes to
Sue Sneeringer, Board Administrator, via electronic mail at speech.hearing@state.nm.us or
by regular mail at P.O. Box 25101, Santa Fe, NM 87504, no later than Wednesday,
December 29, 2021. Persons will also be
given the opportunity to present their comments at the rule hearing. All written comments will be posted to the
Board’s website at: https://www.rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/speech-language-pathology-audiology-and-hearing-aid-dispensing-practices/slp-rules-and-laws/, no more than three business days following
receipt to allow for public viewing.
An individual with a disability who is in need of a
reader, amplifier, qualified signed language interpreter, or other form of
auxiliary aid or service to participate in the hearing, please contact Sue
Sneeringer, Board Administrator at (505) 476-4646.
Statutory Authority: Section
61-14B-11(A) of the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology
and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices (Act), NMSA 1978, Sections 61-14B-1
through 61-14B-25 (1990, as amended through 2021), authorizes the Board to
“adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of the Act in accordance
with the Uniform Licensing Act.” Section
61-14B-11(C) of the Act requires the Board to “adopt a code of ethics that
includes rules requiring audiologists and hearing aid dispensers, at the time
of the initial examination for possible sale and fitting of a hearing aid if a
hearing loss is determined, to inform each prospective purchaser about hearing
aid options that can provide a direct connection between the hearing aid and
assistive listening systems.” Further, Section 61-14B-11(H) of the Act requires
the Board to adopt rules that provide for licensure by reciprocity, including
temporary permits for speech-language pathologists, audiologists, or hearing
aid dispensers. Finally, Section 61-1-36 of the Uniform Licensing Act, NMSA 1978,
Sections 61-1-1 to 61-1-36 (1957, as amended through 2021), requires the Board
to “promulgate and post on the board's website rules relating to licensing
requirements to list the specific criminal convictions that could disqualify an
applicant from receiving a license on the basis of a previous felony
conviction.”
Purpose of the proposed rules:
The proposed rules are intended to provide
greater clarity in existing regulatory and statutory requirements, ensure continued
high levels of professionalism among licensees and registrants, and to
generally satisfy the Board’s statutory obligation to “adopt rules and
regulations and establish policy necessary to carry out the provisions of the
Act in accordance with the Uniform Licensing Act.” NMSA 1978, Section
61-14B-11(A). In addition, several of the proposed rule changes are intended to
address to recent statutory changes to the Uniform Licensing Act codified in
Sections 61-1-34 and 61-1-36 NMSA 1978.
Summary of Proposed Changes:
The Board summarizes its proposed changes to
its administrative rules as follows:
16.26.2 NMAC - Licensure Requirements
As a general summary, the proposed changes to
16.26.2 NMAC add the requirement that all applicants certify that they have not
been convicted of felonies listed in 16.26.7.8 NMAC. Additionally, the proposed changes provide
for a bilingual/multicultural endorsement for out of state and out of country
applicants that is consistent with the requirements for those applicants in New
Mexico.
16.26.7 NMAC – Grounds for Disciplinary
Action
As a general summary, the proposed changes to
16.26.2 NMAC would bring the rules into compliance with Section 61-1-36 NMSA
1978, which mandates that boards and commissions update identify specific
disqualifying felony convictions which may preclude licensure under the Act.
The proposed changes remove previous references to certain misdemeanors and
violations of the Controlled Substances Act and replaces those references with a
list of disqualifying felonies which are job related for the position in
question and consistent with business necessity. Further, the proposed change to this
subsection outlines that practitioner could be disciplined for failing to
deliver a person supplied with a hearing aid a receipt that contains particular
information mandated by statute.
Finally, the proposed change outlines the Board’s ability to consider
certain evidence of disqualifying convictions.
16.26.11 NMAC – Licensure for Military
Service Members, Spouses and Veterans
As a general summary, the proposed changes to
16.26.2 NMAC update the rule to reflect recent legislative changes regarding
expedited licensure for military service members. The updated rule expands the definition of
eligibility for individuals applying for expedited licensure as a service
member and expands expedited licensure to all veterans with a license in good
standing in another jurisdiction. Additionally, the new rule reflects the
specific requirements for individuals applying through this process.