STAND. COM. REP. NO. 610

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 343

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 343 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow applicants for licensure by the Board of Dental Examiners to take clinical examinations that are substantially similar to the American Board of Dental Examiners examination or meet certain other professional qualifications.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one individual.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Dental Association and sixty-two individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Dental Examiners and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that the existing law that requires passage of the American Board of Dental Examiners (ADEX) examination for licensure as a dentist in the State was originally enacted to allow Hawaii to participate in a standardized national examination process.  Since this law was enacted, limiting the approved examination to only the ADEX examination has created many difficulties for dentists seeking to obtain licensure in Hawaii.  For example, your Committee finds that this law impacts dentists who may have gone to dental school on the mainland - as your Committee notes that the State lacks a school of dentistry - and practiced on the mainland for a number of years, but still maintained close ties with Hawaii.  The existing law creates a burden for these licensed dentists who may wish to relocate and practice dentistry in this State.

     Your Committee has heard the testimony that some states license dentists through additional education requirements, without the need for passage of a clinical examination.  However, your Committee notes that the ADEX examination is not the only nationally recognized clinical dental examination that a dentist may take.  Nevertheless, your Committee recognizes the concerns raised in testimony and concludes that amendments to this measure are needed that ensure the qualifications for dental licensure in Hawaii do not remain so rigid as to unreasonably exclude otherwise competent out-of-state licensed dentists, while also maintaining appropriate consumer protection.

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that an applicant for dental licensure shall take and pass the ADEX examination or any other nationally recognized clinical dental examination recommended by the American Dental Association, rather than any substantively similar examination;

     (2)  Clarifying that the other qualifications for licensure, applicable to applicants who are practicing dentists, include graduation from an accredited school of dentistry and holding a license to practice dentistry in another state whose licensing requirements include passage of the ADEX examination, its predecessor examination, or another nationally recognized, substantially equivalent examination recommended by the American Dental Association;

     (3)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 343, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 343, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

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ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair