STAND. COM. REP. NO. 566-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2093

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 2093 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DENTAL PROFESSIONAL LICENSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to address the unmet oral health needs of Hawaii's low-income and uninsured communities by increasing the number of dentists and dental hygienists providing dental services in nonprofit health centers. This bill authorizes the Board of Dental Examiners (BDE) to issue, without examination, a community service license for dentists and dental hygienists to practice in:

(1) A federally qualified health center;

(2) The native Hawaiian health care system; or

(3) An accredited post-secondary dental auxiliary training program.

This bill also updates statutory references regarding the accrediting body for dental colleges.

The Department of Health, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Hawaii Dental Association, Hawaii Dental Hygienists Association, Hawaii Medical Service Association, Good Beginnings Alliance, and Hawaii Island Dental Task Force testified in unqualified support of this measure. BDE also supported this bill, but suggested amendments.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's community health centers serve people with incomes mostly below poverty, who live in geographically remote areas and are linguistically and culturally isolated. In recent years, there has been an expansion of dental programs at these health centers, and more are expected to open in the near future. However, these programs have experienced difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified dental care professionals. The federal government has designated all of the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, and Kauai, as well as Kalihi-Palama in Honolulu as dental health professional shortage areas.

This bill would expedite the licensing process by removing Hawaii from the list of only four states that do not grant licensure by credentials. It would thereby allow our population of dentist and dental hygienist retirees who have moved to Hawaii from other states, to practice in Hawaii's safety-net clinics. The bill would also help to recruit other eligible dentists and dental hygienists from out-of-state, and direct them to the specific organizations and areas in which they are most needed.

Your Committee finds that this bill is the collaborative effort of the members of the Hawaiian Islands Oral Health Task Force, who came together to provide solutions to the severe shortage of dental health providers willing to serve low income and uninsured patients in Hawaii.

Your Committee has amended the bill by:

(1) Limiting license renewals to five consecutive years, so that the community service license does not become a means of avoiding standard licensure procedures;

(2) Adding a repeal date of July 1, 2009; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and consistency.

Your Committee did not make the changes suggested by BDE in their testimony. This should not be taken as a reflection on the merit of the amendments, but rather, a decision made out of respect for the process by which the bill was crafted. It is anticipated that BDE's testimony will be reviewed by the other supporters of this bill, who will have an opportunity to endorse or challenge the amendments in future Senate hearings of this measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2093, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2093, H.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce,

 

____________________________

KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair