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Senate substitute bill would exempt hearing aids and some assistive devices from sales tax
Summary
First-substitute SB19, proposed to exempt hearing aids, cochlear implants and certain assistive telephone devices from sales tax, was advanced to the third-reading calendar; sponsors said removing tax on assistive devices prevents taxing a disability, while critics asked why not extend to eyeglasses and flagged fiscal impacts.
Senate first-substitute Bill 19 would remove sales and use tax on hearing aids and certain assistive devices; Senator Montgomery carried the measure on Jan. 25 and the Senate moved the substitute to the third-reading calendar under a suspension of the rules.
Montgomery told the chamber the substitute expands the original exemption to include surgically implanted cochlear devices and some telephone assistive devices. "I think it's very important that we remove the sales tax from hearing aids," Montgomery said, arguing the devices aid communication and should not be taxed as a disability. The original fiscal estimate was about $311,000; legislative analysts provided a letter saying the substitute would increase that estimate by roughly $30,000.
Senators questioned the line-drawing for exemptions, asking why eyeglasses would not receive similar treatment; Montgomery replied hearing aids are not cosmetic and that a separate bill could address eyeglasses used strictly for vision correction. Senator Valentine clarified that hearing aid batteries and inexpensive components sold at general retail were explicitly excluded from the exemption in the substitute language.
Under suspension the bill was read and advanced to third reading; the clerk noted the bill passed the floor action required to be placed on the calendar for a final vote later in the process.
