New Mexico Register / Volume XXXII,
Issue 18 / September 28, 2021
NOTICE OF PUBLIC
RULE HEARING AND REGULAR BOARD MEETING
The
New Mexico Speech-Language Pathologists, Audiologists
& Hearing Aid Dispensers Board (Board) will hold a rule hearing on
Friday, November 12, 2021, at 9:00 a.m.
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/j.php?MTID=m4d6e8811c59cad3a48e2686d1ece2cd1
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
To
obtain and review copies of the proposed changes 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 New Mexico Speech-Language Pathologists, Audiologists &
Hearing Aid Dispensers Board at (505) 476-4622 or by email at speech.hearing@state.nm.us.
The
Board is currently accepting public comments on the proposed amendments. 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 Thursday, November 11, 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) 476-4622.
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 -25 (1990, as amended through 2021), authorizes the Board to “adopt
rules necessary to implement the provisions of the Speech-Language Pathology,
Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices Act in accordance with the
Uniform Licensing Act.” Section
61-14B-11(C) of the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid
Dispensing Practices 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 Speech-Language
Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices 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 -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
Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices 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. See S.B. 2, 55th Leg.,
1st S.S. (N.M. 2021), available at
https://nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?Chamber=S&LegType=B&LegNo=2&year=21s,
and H.B. 120, 55th Leg., 1st Sess. (N.M. 2021), available at
https://nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?Chamber=H&LegType=B&LegNo=120&year=21.
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 would preclude licensure under the
Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices
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. Additionally, the new rule reflects the
requirements for individuals applying through this process. Finally, the new fee and time schedule as
required by 61-1-34 NMSA 1978.