STAND. COM. REP. NO.  417-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.B. No. 2457

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 2457, 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 promote the dental health of Hawaii's children by, among other things:

     (1)  Requiring the Director of Health to participate in the National Oral Health Surveillance System, a national database managed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors;

     (2)  Requiring the Department of Health to establish, or enter into partnerships or agreements to administer, a school-based dental sealant program in a high-need demonstration school to provide sealants to high-risk students with susceptible permanent molar teeth;

     (3)  Requiring the Department of Health to establish a plan for a statewide school-based dental sealant program;

     (4)  Requiring the Department of Health to report to the Legislature about the Department's efforts to prioritize the prevention of tooth decay among the state's children; and

     (5)  Appropriating funds for the Department of Health to establish, or enter into partnerships or agreements to administer, a school-based dental sealant program in a high-need demonstration school, including plans to implement the program on a statewide level.

The Department of Education, Department of Health, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Pew Children's Dental Campaign, Good Beginnings Alliance, and a concerned individual supported the bill.  The Hawaii Primary Care Association and a concerned individual submitted comments.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2457, H.D. 1, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

ROY M. TAKUMI, Chair