reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
RI Gen L § 5-48.1-1 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-48.1 - Patient Protection Act|Section 5-48.1-1 - Legislative findings.

§ 5-48.1-1. Legislative findings.It is found and declared as follows:(1) Individuals and corporations sometimes establish joint ventures and other business arrangements to offer various diagnostic and therapeutic healthcare services and items to patients. While some of these arrangements assist in providing appropriate but unavailable services and items to patients, or help finance nearby facilities as a convenience to patients, others appear to constitute opportunities for investment. These arrangements can give rise to abuse by creating an environment in which healthcare providers could order unnecessary services from those facilities in which they own an interest. To limit this conduct, Congress of the United States amended the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b) to prohibit certain financial arrangements. This prohibition is contained in § 1128B(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b.(2) The provisions of the amendments to the Social Security Act, (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b), apply only to Medicare/Medicaid reimbursed services and a void exists with respect to services rendered at the state level, which are reimbursed by private payers.(3) Accordingly, in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all residents of this state, it is deemed appropriate to adopt the standards prescribed in the federal statute as applicable to the delivery of all healthcare services and items in this state.History of Section.P.L. 1993, ch. 107, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-48.1-2 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-48.1 - Patient Protection Act|Section 5-48.1-2 - Definitions.

§ 5-48.1-2. Definitions.As used in this chapter:(1) "Director" means the director of the Rhode Island department of health.(2) "Facility" means any healthcare facility licensed by the department of health or the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals under the provisions of title 23 and title 40.1.(3) "Healthcare provider" means any person licensed, registered, or certified by this state to provide, or lawfully providing healthcare services. These include, but are not limited to, a physician, hospital, nursing facility, intermediate-care facility or other healthcare facility, dentist, nurse, optometrist, podiatrist, physical therapist, psychiatric social worker, or psychologist.(4) "Healthcare services" means acts of diagnosis, treatment, medical evaluation, or counseling, or any other acts that may be permissible under the healthcare licensing statutes of this state.(5) "Person" means any individual, trust or estate, partnership, corporation (including associations, joint stock companies, and insurance companies), state, or political subdivision or instrumentality of a state.History of Section.P.L. 1993, ch. 107, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-48.1-4 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-48.1 - Patient Protection Act|Section 5-48.1-4 - Adoption of regulations.

§ 5-48.1-4. Adoption of regulations.(a) All regulations adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services specifying payment practices that are not treated as a criminal offense under § 1128B(b) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), and do not serve as the basis for exclusion under § 1128(b)(7) of that Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7(b)(7), which regulations are in effect as of July, 1991, or which are adopted on or after that date, are deemed to be regulations in this state governing practices that are exempt from the provisions of § 5-48.1-3.(b) The director may, by regulation, provide for modification or deviation from the regulations specified in (a) of this section, whether or not this modification or deviation is in accord with the regulations adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.(c) The director is authorized to adopt any other regulations he or she deems necessary in order to implement the provisions of this chapter.History of Section.P.L. 1993, ch. 107, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-48.1-5 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-48.1 - Patient Protection Act|Section 5-48.1-5 - Sanctions.

§ 5-48.1-5. Sanctions.In addition to any penalty provided by this chapter for violation of the provisions of § 5-48.1-3, noncompliance or violation of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted under it shall constitute grounds to revoke or suspend the license of, or discipline, a licensed healthcare provider, or to deny an application for licensure. The appropriate licensing agency or body has authority to take this action against a licensee or applicant in accordance with established procedures.History of Section.P.L. 1993, ch. 107, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-1 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-1 - Definitions.

§ 5-49-1. Definitions.As used in this chapter, except as the context may require:(1) "Audiologist" means a person who has been awarded a certificate of competency by the American Speech and Hearing Association and who is duly licensed by the department.(2) "Board" means the board of hearing aid dealers and fitters.(3) "Department" means the department of health.(4) "Hearing aid" means any wearable instrument or device designed for or offered for the purpose of aiding or compensating for impaired human hearing, and any parts, attachments, or accessories, including ear mold, but excluding batteries and cords.(5) "License" means a license issued by the state under this chapter to hearing aid dealers and fitters.(6) "Practice of fitting and dealing in hearing aids" means the evaluation and measurement of human hearing by means of an audiometer or by any other means solely for the purpose of making selections, adaptations, or sale of hearing aids. The term also includes the making of impressions for ear molds. This term does not include the making of audiograms for a physician or a member of related professions for use in consultation with the hard of hearing.(7) "Sell" or "sale" means any transfer of title or of the right to use by lease, bailment, or any other contract, excluding wholesale transactions with distributors or dealers.(8) "Temporary permit" means a permit issued while the applicant is in training to become a licensed hearing aid dealer and fitter.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1; P.L. 1996, ch. 174, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-2 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-2 - License required to sell or fit hearing aids.

§ 5-49-2. License required to sell or fit hearing aids.(a) No person shall engage in the dispensing, selling, fitting of hearing aids, or display a sign, or in any other way advertise or represent himself or herself as a person who practices the fitting and sale of hearing aids after August 1, 1973, unless he or she holds an unsuspended, unrevoked license issued by the department as provided in this chapter.(b) The license shall be conspicuously posted in his or her office or place of business. Duplicate licenses shall be issued by the department to valid license holders operating more than one office without additional payment.(c) A license under this chapter shall confer upon the holder the right to select, fit, and sell hearing aids.(d) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a corporation, partnership, trust, association, or other organization maintaining an established business address, from selling or offering for sale hearing aids at retail without a license; provided, that it employs only properly licensed natural persons in the direct sale and fitting of those products.(e) Those corporations, partnerships, trusts, associations, or other organizations shall file annually with the board a list of all licensed hearing aid dealers and fitters directly or indirectly employed by it.(f) Those organizations shall also file with the board a statement, on a form approved by the board, that they submit themselves to the rules and regulations of the department and the provisions of this chapter which the department deems applicable to them.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-2.1 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-2.1 - Certificates of need.

§ 5-49-2.1. Certificates of need.(a) No person, firm, association, or corporation shall sell or attempt to sell, or make available, any hearing aid instrument or hearing prosthetic device to a prospective consumer or purchaser, unless that consumer or purchaser has first obtained and presented to the seller a certificate of need on forms prescribed and furnished by the director of the department of health.(b) The certificate shall be signed by a physician licensed in the state under the provisions of chapter 37 of this title and attest that, pursuant to an otological examination, it is his or her diagnosis that the prospective patient-purchaser has a hearing impediment of a nature as to indicate the need for a hearing aid instrument or hearing prosthetic device.History of Section.P.L. 1978, ch. 177, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-2.2 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-2.2 - Records of transactions.

§ 5-49-2.2. Records of transactions.(a) Every person, firm, association, or corporation shall keep a permanent record of all sales or other transactions where a hearing aid instrument or hearing prosthetic device is made available.(b) Each record of a transaction shall have attached to it the certificate of need presented by the prospective purchaser.(c) Each record of a transaction shall be retained for a period of five (5) years, and shall be kept open for inspection by any official designated by the director of the department of health.History of Section.P.L. 1978, ch. 177, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-2.3 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-2.3 - Penalty for violations of §§ 5-49-2.1 and 5-49-2.2.

§ 5-49-2.3. Penalty for violations of §§ 5-49-2.1 and 5-49-2.2.Any person, firm, association, or corporation who or that sells or attempts to sell, or makes available, a hearing aid instrument or hearing prosthetic device without a certificate of need, and/or fails to keep records as prescribed in § 5-49-2.2, and any physician who issues a certificate of need not in conformance with § 5-49-2.1, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for each offense. Each violation of a provision of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense.History of Section.P.L. 1978, ch. 177, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-4 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-4 - Persons and practices exempted.

§ 5-49-4. Persons and practices exempted.(a) This chapter is not intended to prevent any person from engaging in the practice of measuring human hearing for the purpose of selecting hearing aids; provided, that the person or organization employing that person does not sell hearing aids or hearing aid accessories except in the case of ear molds made by an audiologist to be used only for the purpose of evaluation.(b) This chapter does not apply to a person who is a physician licensed to practice in Rhode Island, and an audiologist; provided, that the physician does not engage in the sale of hearing aids.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-5 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-5 - [Obsolete.]

§ 5-49-5. [Obsolete.]
RI Gen L § 5-49-6 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-6 - Issuance of licenses and certificates of endorsement.

§ 5-49-6. Issuance of licenses and certificates of endorsement.(a) The department shall register each applicant without discrimination who passes an examination as provided in § 5-49-7. Upon the applicant's payment as set forth in § 23-1-54 per annum for each year of the term of license, the department shall issue to the applicant a license signed by the department. The total fee for the entire term of licensure shall be paid prior to the issuance of the license.(b) Whenever the board determines that another state or jurisdiction has requirements equivalent to or higher than those in effect pursuant to this chapter, and that this state or jurisdiction has a program equivalent to or stricter than the program for determining whether applicants pursuant to this chapter are qualified to dispense and fit hearing aids, the department may issue certificates of endorsement to applicants who hold current, unsuspended, and unrevoked certificates or licenses to fit and sell hearing aids in that other state or jurisdiction.(c) No applicant for certificate of endorsement shall be required to submit to or undergo a qualifying examination, etc., other than the payment of fees, as set forth in § 23-1-54.(d) The holder of a certificate of endorsement shall be registered in the same manner as a licensee. The fee for an initial certificate of endorsement shall be the same as the fee for an initial license. Fees, grounds for renewal, and procedures for the suspension and revocation of certificates of endorsement shall be the same as for renewal, suspension, and revocation of a license.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1; P.L. 1987, ch. 184, § 5; P.L. 2005, ch. 410, § 5; P.L. 2009, ch. 310, § 36; P.L. 2012, ch. 241, art. 9, § 20.
RI Gen L § 5-49-7 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-7 - License by examination.

§ 5-49-7. License by examination.(a) Applicants who do not meet the experience qualification of former § 5-49-5 on July 1, 1973, may obtain a license by successfully passing a qualifying examination, provided the applicant:(1) Is at least twenty-one (21) years of age;(2) Is of good moral character;(3) Has an education equivalent to a four-year course in an accredited high school; and(4) Is free of contagious or infectious disease.(b) Applicants for license by examination shall appear at a time, place, and before any persons the department designates, to be examined by means of written and practical tests in order to demonstrate that he or she is qualified to practice the fitting and sale of hearing aids. The examination administered as directed by the board shall not be conducted in a manner that requires college training in order to pass. Nothing in this examination shall imply that the applicant possesses the degree of medical competence normally expected of physicians.(c) The department shall give examinations as required.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1; P.L. 1996, ch. 174, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-8 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-8 - Temporary permits.

§ 5-49-8. Temporary permits.(a) An applicant who fulfills the requirements regarding age, character, education, and health as provided in § 5-49-7, may obtain a temporary permit upon application to the department. Previous experience or a waiting period shall not be required to obtain a temporary permit.(b) Upon receiving an application as provided under this section, and accompanied by a fee as set forth in § 23-1-54, the department shall issue a temporary permit that entitles the applicant to engage in the fitting and sale of hearing aids for a period of one year.(c) A person holding a valid hearing aid dealer's and fitter's license is responsible for the supervision and training of that applicant and maintaining adequate personal contact.(d) If a person who holds a temporary permit under this section has not successfully passed the licensing examination within one year from the date of issuance of the permit, the temporary permit may be renewed or reissued once upon payment of a fee as set forth in § 23-1-54.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 241, art. 9, § 20.
RI Gen L § 5-49-9 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-9 - Scope of examination.

§ 5-49-9. Scope of examination.The qualifying examination provided in § 5-49-7, "license by examination," shall be designed to demonstrate the applicant's adequate technical qualifications by:(1) Testing knowledge in the following areas as they pertain to the fitting and sale of hearing aids:(i) Basic physics of sound;(ii) The anatomy and physiology of the ear; and(iii) The function of hearing aids;(2) Testing practical proficiency in the following techniques as they pertain to the fitting of hearing aids:(i) Pure-tone audiometry, including air-conduction testing and bone-conduction testing;(ii) Live voice or recorded voice-speech audiometry, including speech-reception threshold testing and speech-discrimination testing;(iii) Masking when indicated;(iv) Recording and evaluating audiograms and speech audiometry to determine proper selection and adaptation of a hearing aid;(v) Taking ear mold impressions; and(3) Testing knowledge of the medical and rehabilitation facilities for children and adults in the area being served.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-10 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-10 - Notice to department of place of business - Notice to holders of license.

§ 5-49-10. Notice to department of place of business — Notice to holders of license.(a) A person who holds a license shall notify the department, in writing, of the regular address of the place or places where he or she engages or intends to engage in the fitting or the sale of hearing aids.(b) The department shall keep a record of the place of business of licensees.(c) Any notice required to be given by the department to a person who holds a license shall be mailed to him or her, by certified mail, at the address of the last place of business that he or she has provided the department.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-11 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-11 - Duration of license - Renewal of license - Fees - Effect of failure to renew.

§ 5-49-11. Duration of license — Renewal of license — Fees — Effect of failure to renew.(a) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations mandating the term of license for each category of license issued pursuant to this chapter. No license shall remain in force for a period in excess of two (2) years.(1) Each person who engages in the fitting and sale of hearing aids shall pay to the department a fee, as set forth in § 23-1-54, per annum for each year of the term of license, for a renewal of his or her license.(2) The renewal certificate shall be conspicuously posted in his or her office or place of business at all times.(3) Where more than one office is operated by the licensee, duplicate certificates shall be issued by the department for posting in each location.(b) A thirty-day (30) grace period shall be allowed during which time licenses may be renewed on payment of a fee to the department, as set forth in § 23-1-54, per annum for each year of the term of renewal.(c) After expiration of the grace period, the department may renew those certificates upon payment to the department of a fee, as set forth in § 23-1-54, per annum for each year of the term of renewal.(d) The total fee for the entire term of license or renewal shall be paid prior to the issuance of the license.(e) No person who applies for renewal, whose license has expired, shall be required to submit to any examination as a condition to renewal; provided, that the renewal application is made within two (2) years from the date of that expiration.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1; P.L. 1987, ch. 184, § 6; P.L. 1996, ch. 174, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 77, art. 14, § 20; P.L. 2012, ch. 241, art. 9, § 20.
RI Gen L § 5-49-13 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-13 - Prohibited acts and practices.

§ 5-49-13. Prohibited acts and practices.No person shall:(1) Sell, barter, or offer to sell or barter, a license;(2) Purchase or procure by barter a license with intent to use it as evidence of the holder's qualifications to practice the fitting and sale of hearing aids;(3) Alter a license with fraudulent intent;(4) Use or attempt to use as a valid license a license that has been purchased, fraudulently obtained, counterfeited, or materially altered;(5) Willfully make a false statement in an application for license or application for renewal of a license.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1.
RI Gen L § 5-49-14 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 5 - Businesses and Professions|Chapter 5-49 - Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters|Section 5-49-14 - Powers and duties of department.

§ 5-49-14. Powers and duties of department.The powers and duties of the department shall be as follows:(1) To authorize all disbursements necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter;(2) To supervise issuance of licenses "by experience" and approve the preparation and administration of qualifying examinations to test the knowledge and proficiency of applicants licensed by examination;(3) To register persons who apply to the department and who are qualified to engage in the fitting and sale of hearing aids;(4) To purchase and maintain or rent audiometric equipment and other facilities necessary to carry out the examination of applicants as provided in § 5-49-7;(5) To issue and renew licenses;(6) To suspend or revoke licenses in the manner provided;(7) To designate the time and place for examining applicants;(8) To appoint representatives to conduct or supervise the examination;(9) To establish medical and technical knowledge and standards applicable to the field;(10) To appoint or employ subordinate employees;(11) To determine work experience and educational requirements;(12) To issue an annual report in conjunction with the board of hearing aid dealers and fitters on its activities;(13) To publish education and consumer material in conjunction with the board of hearing aid dealers and fitters as may assist the public in the appropriate use and purchase of hearing aids.History of Section.P.L. 1973, ch. 243, § 1; P.L. 1980, ch. 341, § 8.