STAND. COM. REP. NO. 417

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 933

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 933 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TEMPORARY LICENSURE OF DENTISTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to allow for the temporary licensure of dentists who are employed by or under contract to the Department of Health.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health and Board of Dental Examiners.  Testimony in opposition was received from the Hawaii Dental Association and one individual. Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that the recruitment of dentists to work for the Department of Health is generally limited to individuals who maintain active licenses in Hawaii to practice dentistry.  This measure allows for an expansion of the potential pool to include dentists who hold a temporary license.

     Your Committee further finds that the employment of temporarily licensed dentists by the Department of Health is necessary to address the critical shortage of dentists in areas of the State largely remote and rural, particularly on the neighbor islands and other disadvantaged communities.  This measure also serves to expand the number of dentists who serve persons with disabilities, with mental illness, and the aging population.

     Your Committee has amended this measure on the recommendation of the Hawaii Dental Association to:

(1)  Clarify that the Board of Dental Examiners may issue a community service license to practice dentistry while the person is in the employment of the Department of Health;

(2)  Clarify that the Board of Dental Examiners may issue a temporary license to practice dentistry while the person is contracted by the Department of Health to conduct dental education and training; and

(3)  Deleting the provision in current law that provides for temporary dental licensure of dentists who serve Hansen's disease sufferers, as being unnecessary for purposes of the amended measure.

     Your Committee notes that, for purposes of the title of this measure, the community service license is a different sort of dental license than the temporary dental license, however the community service license is essentially temporary in nature since it is renewable biennially and authorizes practice under restricted time limits. 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 933, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 933, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair