02/19/2018 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

                HB 346-DENTIST: TEMPORARY PERMIT                                                                            
                                                                                                                              
3:20:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  announced that the  first order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL  NO.  346,  "An  Act relating  to  the  licensure  of                                                               
dentists."                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:20:53 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CAITLYN  ELLIS,  Staff,  Representative Sam  Kito,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, introduced HB 346 on  behalf of Representative Kito,                                                               
prime sponsor.   She explained the hearing was on  a bill drafted                                                               
from  a  previous meeting.    She  paraphrased from  the  sponsor                                                               
statement [including in committee  packet] which reads as follows                                                               
[original punctuation provided]:                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     House Bill 346  would allow the Alaska  Board of Dental                                                                    
     Examiners  to grant  temporary licenses  when a  dental                                                                    
     specialist is suddenly incapacitated or when a small                                                                       
     community does not have access to specialized care.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Alaska  has a  limited  number  of dental  specialists,                                                                    
     many of  whom serve  multiple small  communities. There                                                                    
     are nine dental specialties  as defined by the American                                                                    
     Dental   Association:   oral   surgery,   orthodontics,                                                                    
     periodontics   (gums),   endodontics   (root   canals),                                                                    
     pedodontics  (kids), prosthodontics  (replacing teeth),                                                                    
     public health,  , oral  pathology (oral  diseases), and                                                                    
     oral radiology (x-rays); however, Alaska does not have                                                                     
     a  single  specialist in  oral  radiology.  Of the  647                                                                    
     licensed   dentists  in   Alaska,   136  dentists   are                                                                    
     specialists.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Dental specialists in Alaska  are limited in number and                                                                    
     have  full  schedules.  If  a  specialist  is  suddenly                                                                    
     incapacitated, there  is no reserve  to draw  from, and                                                                    
     multiple small communities  could be without specialist                                                                    
     care for an extended  period of time. Small communities                                                                    
     have   historically   had   a  hard   time   recruiting                                                                    
     healthcare  practioners  and  the  trend  seems  to  be                                                                    
     worsening.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Temporary dental licenses would  allow the Alaska Board                                                                    
     of Dental  Examiners to maintain  dental care  in these                                                                    
     communities  until a  full-time dentist  can be  found.                                                                    
     The board is ideally qualified  to evaluate the need to                                                                    
     circumvent   transitional   licensing  procedures   for                                                                    
     dentists in exceptional circumstances.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:23:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SULLIVAN-LEONARD asked  whether  there are  other                                                               
medical professions that require temporary licensure.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
JANEY  McCULLOUGH, Division  Director, Corporations,  Business, &                                                               
Professional   Licensing   (DCBPL),   Department   of   Commerce,                                                               
Community &  Economic Development (DCCED), answered  questions in                                                               
the  hearing on  HB 346.   She  answered that  most of  the other                                                               
professions have an avenue for temporary licensure.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SULLIVAN-LEONARD  asked   for  confirmation  that                                                               
prior  to the  proposed legislation  specialist dentists  did not                                                               
have the same tool.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MS. McCULLOUGH answered in the affirmative.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:24:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR. DAVID NIELSON,  Alaska Dental Board, testified  in support of                                                               
HB  346.   He  said  the  creation  of a  streamlined,  temporary                                                               
license  would   solve  the   problem  of   incapacitated  dental                                                               
specialists who serve  a patient base that cannot  be absorbed by                                                               
the existing licensees,  either because they are  a specialist or                                                               
due to their remote location.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:25:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR. DAVID LOGAN,  Alaska Dental Society, testified  in support of                                                               
HB 346.   He said  the rationale  behind the legislation  is that                                                               
communities risk being without  specialist dental services should                                                               
a specialist become incapacitated.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  asked for any  information on  how the bill  could be                                                               
made better.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DR.  LOGAN  said the  proposed  bill  would  allow the  board  to                                                               
shorten the process of emergency licensing for dentists.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  surmised that was  consistent with the intent  of the                                                               
bill.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:28:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO opened public testimony  on HB 346.  Upon ascertaining                                                               
that no  one was available to  testify, he set the  proposed bill                                                               
aside.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  announced the  committee was  working on  a committee                                                               
substitute.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:28:29 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
[HB 346 was held over.]