STAND. COM. REP. NO.  768

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 658

      H.D. 2

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 658, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DENTAL HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to take proactive measures to prevent tooth decay among children by:

     (1)  Authorizing licensed dental hygienists to apply preventative sealants in a school-based dental sealant program;

     (2)  Requiring the Department of Health, in consultation with specified stakeholders, to:

          (A)  Establish and administer a school-based dental sealant program in a high-need demonstration school;

          (B)  Determine a plan to establish a statewide school-based dental sealant program; and

          (C)  Submit a report to the Legislature prior to the 2015 Regular Session on its efforts to prioritize prevention of tooth decay among children in the State; and

     (3)  Appropriating funds to establish and administer the school-based dental sealant program in a high-need demonstration school, including plans to implement the program statewide.  

The Department of Education, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Hawaii Dental Hygienists' Association, Maui Oral Health Task Force, and a few individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Hawaii Dental Association and an individual testified in opposition to this measure.  The Board of Dental Examiners, Department of Health, and a few individuals provided comments on this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Requiring that the Department of Health's report to the Legislature be submitted no later than September 1, 2014;

     (2)  Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount; and

     (3)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2030, to encourage further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 658, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 658, H.D. 2.

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

____________________________

SYLVIA LUKE, Chair