Substitute House Bill 420 Summary

• Designates November as "Ohio Adoption Awareness Month"

• Modifies Vision Professionals Board regulations for dispensing opticians and ocularists, including relaxed restrictions on past criminal activity for licensure unless applicant committed crimes of moral turpitude or disqualifying offenses

• Reforms Speech and Hearing Professionals Board operations including changes to examination procedures, biennial license renewal schedule, and increases continuing education requirement from 10 to 20 hours per two-year period

• Revises Medicaid provider criminal records check requirements to allow behavioral health services providers to employ individuals with certain criminal records if they hold valid health professional licenses or peer recovery supporter certificates and do not bill Medicaid for their services

• Changes license application fees and renewal procedures for hearing aid dealers and fitters, with transition provisions for existing licensees between January 2019 and January 2020