HB 1311-1_ Filed 01/30/2009, 12:53
Adopted 2/2/2009


Text Box

Adopted Rejected


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COMMITTEE REPORT

            
                                                        YES:

7

                                                        NO:
0

MR. SPEAKER:

    Your Committee on       Insurance     , to which was referred       House Bill 1311     , has had the same under consideration and begs leave to report the same back to the House with the recommendation that said bill be amended as follows:

    Delete the title and insert the following:
    A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning education and to make an appropriation.

SOURCE: Page 1, line 1; (09)CR131101.1. -->     Page 1, delete lines 1 through 17, begin a new paragraph and insert:
SOURCE: IC 20-20-37; (09)CR131101.1. -->     "SECTION 1. IC 20-20-37 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2008 (RETROACTIVE)]:
     Chapter 37. Hearing Aids for School Corporation Students Program
    Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "fund" refers to the hearing aid fund established by section 2 of this chapter.
    Sec. 2. The hearing aid fund is established for the purpose of providing funding to school corporations for payment for hearing aids for hearing impaired students of the school corporation.
    Sec. 3. The fund shall be administered by the department.
    Sec. 4. The fund consists of appropriations from the general

assembly, gifts, bequests, and other sources of funding.
    Sec. 5. The expenses of administering the fund shall be paid from money in the fund.
    Sec. 6. The treasurer of state shall invest the money in the fund not currently needed to meet the obligations of the fund in the same manner as other public money may be invested. Interest that accrues from these investments shall be deposited in the fund.
    Sec. 7. (a) Money in the fund at the end of a state fiscal year does not revert to the state general fund.
    (b) There is annually appropriated to the department from the fund an amount sufficient for the purposes of this chapter.
    Sec. 8. (a) A school corporation may at any time apply to the department for funding from the fund to pay for a hearing aid that is:
        (1)
prescribed:
            (A) by a physician who is licensed under IC 25-22.5; and
            (B) to a hearing impaired student of the school corporation; and
        (2) prescribed, fitted, and dispensed for the student by an audiologist who is licensed under IC 25-35.6.
    (b) The department shall, upon receipt of an application made under subsection (a), provide payment from the fund for the hearing aid.
    Sec. 9. The department shall give funding priority to applications under this chapter for students who are less than fourteen (14) years of age.
    Sec. 10. (a) The department shall create a hearing aid refurbishing program through which hearing aids that are no longer used by school corporation students and other individuals are collected and refurbished for the use of other individuals.
    (b) The department may enter into an agreement with another organization to implement this section.

SOURCE: ; (09)CR131101.2. -->     SECTION 2. [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2008 (RETROACTIVE)] There is appropriated to the hearing aid fund established by IC 20-20-37 three million dollars ($3,000,000) from the higher education commission operating account for purposes of implementing IC 20-20-37, as added by this act.
SOURCE: ; (09)CR131101.3. -->     SECTION 3. An emergency is declared for this act.".
    Delete pages 2 through 3.
    Renumber all SECTIONS consecutively.
    (Reference is to HB 1311 as introduced.)

and when so amended that said bill do pass.

__________________________________

Representative Fry


CR131101/DI 97    2009