House File 656 - Enrolled
House File 656
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE DENTIST AND DENTAL HYGIENIST COMPACT.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 147G.1 Dentist and dental hygienist
2 compact.
3 1. Title and purpose. This chapter shall be known and cited
4 as the dentist and dental hygienist compact. The purposes
5 of this compact are to facilitate the interstate practice of
6 dentistry and dental hygiene and improve public access to
7 dentistry and dental hygiene services by providing dentists
8 and dental hygienists licensed in a participating state the
9 ability to practice in participating states in which they are
10 not licensed. The compact does this by establishing a pathway
11 for dentists and dental hygienists licensed in a participating
12 state to obtain a compact privilege that authorizes them to
13 practice in another participating state in which they are not
14 licensed. The compact enables participating states to protect
15 the public health and safety with respect to the practice
16 of such dentists and dental hygienists through the state’s
17 authority to regulate the practice of dentistry and dental
18 hygiene in the state. The compact:
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19 a. Enables dentists and dental hygienists who qualify for
20 a compact privilege to practice in other participating states
21 without satisfying burdensome and duplicative requirements
22 associated with securing a license to practice in those states.
23 b. Promotes mobility and addresses workforce shortages
24 through each participating state’s acceptance of a compact
25 privilege to practice in that state.
26 c. Increases public access to qualified, licensed dentists
27 and dental hygienists by creating a responsible, streamlined
28 pathway for licensees to practice in participating states.
29 d. Enhances the ability of participating states to protect
30 the public’s health and safety.
31 e. Does not interfere with licensure requirements
32 established by a participating state.
33 f. Facilitates the sharing of licensure and disciplinary
34 information among participating states.
35 g. Requires dentists and dental hygienists who practice in a
1 participating state pursuant to a compact privilege to practice
2 within the scope of practice authorized in that state.
3 h. Extends the authority of a participating state to
4 regulate the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene within
5 its borders to dentists and dental hygienists who practice in
6 the state through a compact privilege.
7 i. Promotes the cooperation of participating states in
8 regulating the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene within
9 those states.
10 j. Facilitates the relocation of military members and
11 their spouses who are licensed to practice dentistry or dental
12 hygiene.
13 2. Definitions. As used in this compact, unless the context
14 requires otherwise, the following definitions shall apply:
15 a. “Active military member” means an individual in full-time
16 duty status in the armed forces of the United States, including
17 members of the national guard and reserve.
18 b. “Adverse action” means any disciplinary action or
19 encumbrance imposed on a licensee or compact privilege by a
20 state licensing authority.
21 c. “Alternative program” means a nondisciplinary monitoring
22 or practice remediation process applicable to a dentist or
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23 dental hygienist approved by a state licensing authority of a
24 participating state in which the dentist or dental hygienist is
25 licensed. “Alternative program” includes but is not limited to
26 programs to which licensees with substance abuse or addiction
27 issues are referred in lieu of adverse action.
28 d. “Clinical assessment” means an examination or process,
29 required for licensure as a dentist or dental hygienist as
30 applicable, that provides evidence of clinical competence in
31 dentistry or dental hygiene.
32 e. “Commissioner” means the individual appointed by a
33 participating state to serve as the member of the commission
34 for that participating state.
35 f. “Compact” means this dentist and dental hygienist
1 compact.
2 g. “Compact privilege” means the authorization granted by a
3 remote state to allow a licensee from a participating state to
4 practice as a dentist or dental hygienist in a remote state.
5 h. “Continuing professional development” means a requirement
6 as a condition of license renewal to provide evidence of
7 successful participation in educational or professional
8 activities relevant to practice or area of work.
9 i. “Criminal background check” means the submission of
10 fingerprints or other biometric-based information for a license
11 applicant for the purpose of obtaining the applicant’s criminal
12 history record information, as defined in 28 C.F.R. §20.3(d)
13 from the federal bureau of investigation and the state’s
14 criminal history record repository as defined in 28 C.F.R.
15 §20.3(f).
16 j. “Data system” means the commission’s repository of
17 information about licensees, including but not limited to
18 examinations, licensure, investigative information, compact
19 privileges, adverse actions, and alternative programs.
20 k. “Dental hygienist” means an individual who is licensed by
21 a state licensing authority to practice dental hygiene.
22 l. “Dentist” means an individual who is licensed by a state
23 licensing authority to practice dentistry.
24 m. “Dentist and dental hygienist compact commission” or
25 “commission” means a joint government agency established by this
26 compact comprised of each state that has enacted the compact
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27 and a national administrative body comprised of a commissioner
28 from each state that has enacted the compact.
29 n. “Encumbered license” means a license that a state
30 licensing authority has limited in any way other than through
31 an alternative program.
32 o. “Executive board” means the chair, vice chair, secretary,
33 and treasurer, and any other commissioners as may be determined
34 by commission rule or bylaw.
35 p. “Jurisprudence requirement” means the assessment of an
1 individual’s knowledge of the laws and rules governing the
2 practice of dentistry or dental hygiene, as applicable, in a
3 state.
4 q. “License” means current authorization by a state, other
5 than authorization pursuant to a compact privilege, or other
6 privilege, for an individual to practice as a dentist or dental
7 hygienist in that state.
8 r. “Licensee” means an individual who holds an unrestricted
9 license from a participating state to practice as a dentist or
10 dental hygienist in that state.
11 s. “Model compact” means the model for the dentist and
12 dental hygienist compact on file with the council of state
13 governments or other entity as designated by the commission.
14 t. “Participating state” means a state that has enacted the
15 compact and been admitted to the commission in accordance with
16 the provisions of the compact and commission rules.
17 u. “Qualifying license” means a license that is not an
18 encumbered license issued by a participating state to practice
19 dentistry or dental hygiene.
20 v. “Remote state” means a participating state where a
21 licensee who is not licensed as a dentist or dental hygienist
22 is exercising or seeking to exercise the compact privilege.
23 w. “Rule” means a regulation promulgated by an entity that
24 has the force of law.
25 x. “Scope of practice” means the procedures, actions, and
26 processes a dentist or dental hygienist licensed in a state
27 is permitted to undertake in that state and the circumstances
28 under which the licensee is permitted to undertake those
29 procedures, actions, and processes. Such procedures, actions,
30 and processes and the circumstances under which they may
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31 be established through means, including but not limited to
32 statutes, regulations, case law, and other processes available
33 to the state licensing authority or other government agency.
34 y. “Significant investigative information” means information,
35 records, and documents received or generated by a state
1 licensing authority pursuant to an investigation for which a
2 determination has been made that there is probable cause to
3 believe that the licensee has violated a statute or regulation
4 that is considered more than a minor infraction for which
5 the state licensing authority could pursue an adverse action
6 against the licensee.
7 z. “State” means a state, commonwealth, district, or
8 territory of the United States that regulates the practices of
9 dentistry and dental hygiene.
10 aa. “State licensing authority” means an agency or other
11 entity of a state that is responsible for the licensing and
12 regulation of dentists or dental hygienists.
13 3. State participation in the compact.
14 a. In order to join the compact and thereafter continue as a
15 participating state, a state must do all of the following:
16 (1) Enact a compact that is not materially different from
17 the model compact, as determined in accordance with commission
18 rules.
19 (2) Participate fully in the commission’s data system.
20 (3) Have a mechanism in place for receiving and
21 investigating complaints about its licensees and license
22 applicants.
23 (4) Notify the commission, in compliance with the terms of
24 the compact and commission rules, of any adverse action or the
25 availability of significant investigative information regarding
26 a licensee or license applicant.
27 (5) Fully implement a criminal background check
28 requirement, within a time frame established by commission
29 rule, by receiving the results of a qualifying criminal
30 background check.
31 (6) Comply with commission rules applicable to a
32 participating state.
33 (7) Accept the national board examinations of the joint
34 commission on national dental examinations or another
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35 examination accepted by commission rule as a licensure
1 examination.
2 (8) Accept for licensure that applicants for a dentist
3 license graduate from a predoctoral dental education program
4 accredited by the commission on dental accreditation or another
5 accrediting agency recognized by the United States department
6 of education for the accreditation of dentistry and dental
7 hygiene education programs, leading to the doctor of dental
8 surgery or doctor of dental medicine degree.
9 (9) Accept for licensure that applicants for a dental
10 hygienist license graduate from a dental hygiene program
11 accredited by the commission on dental accreditation or another
12 accrediting agency recognized by the United States department
13 of education for the accreditation of dentistry and dental
14 hygiene education programs.
15 (10) Require for licensure that applicants successfully
16 complete a clinical assessment.
17 (11) Have continuing professional development requirements
18 as a condition for license renewal.
19 (12) Pay a participation fee to the commission as
20 established by commission rule.
21 b. Providing alternative pathways for an individual to
22 obtain an unrestricted license does not disqualify a state from
23 participating in the compact.
24 c. When conducting a criminal background check the state
25 licensing authority shall do all of the following:
26 (1) Consider that information in making a licensure
27 decision.
28 (2) Maintain documentation of the criminal background check
29 and background check information to the extent allowed by state
30 and federal law.
31 (3) Report to the commission whether a state has completed
32 the criminal background check and whether the individual was
33 granted or denied a license.
34 d. A licensee of a participating state who has a qualifying
35 license in that state and does not hold an encumbered license
1 in any other participating state shall be issued a compact
2 privilege in a remote state in accordance with the terms of
3 the compact and commission rules. If a remote state has a
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4 jurisprudence requirement, a compact privilege will not be
5 issued to the licensee unless the licensee has satisfied the
6 jurisprudence requirement.
7 4. Compact privilege.
8 a. To obtain and exercise the compact privilege under the
9 terms and provisions of the compact, a licensee shall do all
10 of the following:
11 (1) Have a qualifying license as a dentist or dental
12 hygienist in a participating state.
13 (2) Be eligible for a compact privilege in any remote state
14 in accordance with paragraphs “d”, “g”, and “h”.
15 (3) Submit to an application process whenever the licensee
16 is seeking a compact privilege.
17 (4) Pay any applicable commission and remote state fees for
18 a compact privilege in the remote state.
19 (5) Meet any jurisprudence requirement established by
20 a remote state in which the licensee is seeking a compact
21 privilege.
22 (6) Have passed a national board examination of the
23 joint commission on national dental examinations or another
24 examination accepted by commission rule.
25 (7) For a dentist, have graduated from a predoctoral dental
26 education program accredited by the commission on dental
27 accreditation, or another accrediting agency recognized by the
28 United States department of education for the accreditation of
29 dentistry and dental hygiene education programs, leading to the
30 doctor of dental surgery or doctor of dental medicine degree.
31 (8) For a dental hygienist, have graduated from a dental
32 hygiene education program accredited by the commission
33 on dental accreditation or another accrediting agency
34 recognized by the United States department of education for
35 the accreditation of dentistry and dental hygiene education
1 programs.
2 (9) Have successfully completed a clinical assessment for
3 licensure.
4 (10) Report to the commission any adverse action taken
5 by any nonparticipating state when applying for a compact
6 privilege and otherwise within thirty days from the date the
7 adverse action is taken.
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8 (11) Report to the commission when applying for a compact
9 privilege the address of the licensee’s primary residence and
10 thereafter immediately report to the commission any change in
11 the address of the licensee’s primary residence.
12 (12) Consent to accept service of process by mail at the
13 licensee’s primary residence on record with the commission
14 with respect to any action brought against the licensee
15 by the commission or a participating state, and consent to
16 accept service of a subpoena by mail at the licensee’s primary
17 residence on record with the commission with respect to any
18 action brought or investigation conducted by the commission or
19 a participating state.
20 b. The licensee must comply with the requirements in
21 paragraph “a” to maintain the compact privilege in the remote
22 state. If those requirements are met, the compact privilege
23 will continue as long as the licensee maintains a qualifying
24 license in the state through which the licensee applied for the
25 compact privilege and pays any applicable compact privilege
26 renewal fees.
27 c. A licensee providing dentistry or dental hygiene in a
28 remote state under the compact privilege shall function within
29 the scope of practice authorized by the remote state for a
30 dentist or dental hygienist licensed in that state.
31 d. A licensee providing dentistry or dental hygiene
32 pursuant to a compact privilege in a remote state is subject
33 to that state’s regulatory authority. A remote state may, in
34 accordance with due process and that state’s laws, by adverse
35 action revoke or remove a licensee’s compact privilege in the
1 remote state for a specific period of time, impose fines,
2 or take any other necessary actions to protect the health
3 and safety of its citizens. If a remote state imposes an
4 adverse action against a compact privilege that limits the
5 compact privilege, that adverse action applies to all compact
6 privileges in all remote states. A licensee whose compact
7 privilege in a remote state is removed for a specified period
8 of time is not eligible for a compact privilege in any other
9 remote state until the specific time for removal of the compact
10 privilege has passed and all encumbrance requirements are
11 satisfied.
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12 e. If a license in a participating state is an encumbered
13 license, the licensee shall lose the compact privilege in a
14 remote state and shall not be eligible for a compact privilege
15 in any remote state until the license is no longer encumbered.
16 f. Once an encumbered license in a participating state
17 is restored to good standing, the