SESSION OF 2024
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2453
As Recommended by House Committee on
Health and Human Services

Brief*
HB 2453 would enact the Dentist and Dental Hygienist
Compact (Compact) to provide interstate practice privileges
for dentists and dental hygienists. The bill contains uniform
language that would enact the Compact in Kansas.

Purpose (Section 1)
The bill would state the purposes of the Compact are to
facilitate the interstate practice of dentistry and dental
hygiene and improve public access to dentistry and dental
hygiene services. The Compact would establish a pathway
for dentists and dental hygienists licensed in a participating
state to obtain privilege to practice in other participating
states where they are not licensed, while states would be
able to protect public health and safety through the State’s
authority to regulate the practice of dentistry and dental
hygiene. The Compact would:
● Enable dentists and dental hygienists who qualify
for Compact privilege to practice in other
participating states without satisfying burdensome
and duplicative requirements associated with
securing a license to practice in those states;
● Promote mobility and address workforce shortages
through each participating state’s acceptance of a
Compact privilege to practice in that state;
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 ● Increase public access to qualified, licensed
dentists and dental hygienists by creating a
responsible, streamlined pathway for licensees to
practice in participating states;
● Enhance the ability of participating states to protect
the public’s health and safety;
● Not interfere with licensure requirements
established by a participating state;
● Facilitate the sharing of licensure and disciplinary
information among participating states;
● Require dentists and dental hygienists who
practice in a participating state pursuant to a
Compact privilege to practice within the scope of
practice authorized in that state;
● Extend the authority of a participating state to
regulate the practice of dentistry and dental
hygiene within its borders to dentists and dental
hygienists who practice in the state through a
Compact privilege;
● Promote the cooperation of a participating state in
regulating the practice of dentistry and dental
hygiene within those states; and
● Facilitate the relocation of military members and
their spouses who are licensed to practice dentistry
or dental hygiene.
Definitions (Section 2)
The Compact would define various terms used
throughout the Compact. Key terms would include the
following:

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 ● “Compact privilege,” defined as the authorization
granted by a remote state to allow a licensee from
a participating state to practice as a dentist or
dental hygienist in a remote state; and
● “Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact
Commission,” (Commission) defined as a joint
government agency established by the Compact
comprised of each state that has enacted the
Compact and a national administrative body
comprised of a Commissioner from each state that
has enacted the Compact.
State Participation in the Compact (Section 3)
In order to join the Compact and continue as a
participating state, states would be required to:
● Enact a Compact that is not materially different
from the model compact as determined in
accordance with Commission rules;
● Participate fully in the Commission’s data system;
● Have a mechanism in place for receiving and
investigating complaints about its licensees and
license applicants;
● Notify the Commission, in compliance with the
terms of the Compact and Commission rules, of
any adverse action or the availability of significant
investigative information regarding a licensee and
license applicant;
● Fully implement a criminal background check
requirement, within a time frame established by
Commission rule, by receiving the results of a
qualifying criminal background check;

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 ● Comply with the Commission rules applicable to a
participating state;
● Accept the National Board Examinations of the
Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations
or another examination accepted by Commission
rule as a licensure examination;
● Accept for licensure that applicants for a dental
license graduate from a predoctoral dental
education program accredited by the Commission
on Dental Accreditation, or another accrediting
agency recognized by the U.S. Department of
Education for the accreditation of dentistry and
dental hygiene education programs, leading to a
doctor of dental surgery (DDS) or doctor of dental
medicine (DMD) degree;
● Accept for licensure that applicants for a dental
hygienist license graduate from a dental hygiene
education program accredited by the Commission
on Dental Accreditation or another accrediting
agency recognized by the U.S. Department of
Education for the accreditation of dentistry and
dental hygiene education programs;
● Require for licensure that applicants successfully
complete a clinical assessment;
● Have continuing professional development
requirements as a condition for license renewal;
and
● Pay a participation fee to the Commission as
established by Commission rule.
The Compact would state that providing alternative
pathways for an individual to receive an unrestricted license
would not disqualify a state from participating in the Compact.

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Criminal Background Check
When conducting a criminal background check, the
Compact would require the state licensing authority to:
● Consider that information in making a licensure
decision;
● Maintain documentation of completion of the
criminal background check and background check
information to the extent allowed by state and
federal law; and
● Report to the Commission whether it has
completed the criminal background check and
whether the individual was granted or denied a
license.
Compact Licensure
The Compact would state a licensee of a participating
state who has a qualifying license in that state and does not
hold an encumbered license in any other participating state
would be issued a Compact privilege in a remote state in
accordance with the terms of the Compact and Commission
rules. If a remote state has a jurisprudence requirement, a
Compact privilege would not be issued to the licensee unless
the licensee has satisfied the jurisprudence requirement.

Compact Privilege (Section 4)
The Compact would require a licensee to do the
following in order to obtain and exercise the Compact
privilege:
● Have a qualifying license as a dentist or dental
hygienist in a participating state;

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● Be eligible for Compact privilege in any remote
state in accordance with the Compact;
● Submit to an application process whenever the
licensee is seeking a Compact privilege;
● Pay any applicable Commission and remote state
fees for a Compact privilege in the remote state;
● Meet any jurisprudence requirement established by
a remote state in which the licensee is seeking a
Compact privilege;
● Have passed a national board examination of the
Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations
or another examination accepted by Commission
rule;
● For a dentist, have graduated from a predoctoral
dental education program accredited by the
Commission on Dental Accreditation, or another
accrediting agency recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education for the accreditation of
dentistry and dental hygiene education programs,
leading to the DDS or DMD degree;
● For a dental hygienist, have graduated from a
dental hygiene education program accredited by
the Commission on Dental Accreditation or another
accrediting agency recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education for the accreditation of
dentistry and dental hygiene education programs;
● Have successfully completed a clinical assessment
for licensure;
● Report to the Commission any adverse action
taken by any non-participating state when applying
for a Compact privilege and, otherwise, within 30
days after the date the adverse action is taken;

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 ● Report to the Commission, when applying for a
Compact privilege, the address of the licensee’s
primary residence and thereafter immediately
report to the Commission any change in address of
the licensee’s primary residence; and
● Consent to accept service of process by mail at the
licensee’s primary residence on record with the
Commission with respect to any action brought
against the licensee by the Commission or a
participating state and consent to accept service of
a subpoena by mail at the licensee’s primary
residence on record with the Commission with
respect to any action brought on investigation
conducted by the Commission or a participating
state.
Compact Privilege
Licensees would be required to comply with the
requirements of the Compact to maintain Compact privilege
in the remote state. If those requirements are met, the
Compact privilege would continue if the licensee maintains a
qualifying license in the state through which the licensee
applied for the Compact privilege and pays any applicable
Compact privilege renewal fees.
A licensee providing dentistry or dental hygiene in a
remote state under the Compact privilege would be required
to function within the scope of practice authorized by the
remote state for a dentist or dental hygienist licensed in that
state.
A licensee providing dentistry or dental hygiene pursuant
to a Compact privilege in a remote state would be subject to
that state’s regulatory authority. A remote state would be able
to, in accordance with due process and that state’s laws, by
adverse action revoke or remove a licensee’s Compact
privilege in the remote state for a specific period of time and

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impose fines or take any other necessary actions to protect
the health and safety of its citizens. If a remote state imposes
an adverse action against a Compact privilege that limits the
Compact privilege, that adverse action would apply to all
Compact privileges in all remote states. A licensee whose
Compact privilege in a remote state is removed for a
specified period of time would not be eligible for a Compact
privilege in any other remote state until the specific time for
removal of the Compact privilege has passed, and all
encumbrance requirements are satisfied.
If a license in a participating state is an encumbered
license, the licensee would lose the Compact privilege in a
remote state and would not be eligible for a Compact
privilege in any remote state until the license is
unencumbered.
Once an encumbered license in a participating state is
restored to good standing, the licensee would need to meet
the requirements for licensees under the Compact to obtain
privilege in a remote state.
If a licensee’s Compact privilege in a remote state is
removed by the remote state, the individual would lose or be
ineligible for the Compact privilege in any remote state until:
● The specific period for which the Compact privilege
was removed has ended; and
● All conditions for removal of the Compact privilege
have been satisfied.
Once these requirements have been met, the licensee
would also need to meet the requirements for licensees under
the Compact to obtain privilege in a remote state.


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Active Military Member or Their Spouses (Section 5)
An active military member and their spouse would not
be required to pay the fee charged by the Commission for a
Compact privilege. If a remote state chooses to charge a fee
for a Compact privilege, it would be able to charge a reduced
fee or no fee to an active military member and their spouse
for a Compact privilege.

Adverse Actions (Section 6)
A participating state in which a licensee is licensed
would have exclusive authority to impose adverse action
against the qualifying license issued by that participating
state.
A participating state would be able to take adverse
action based on the significant investigative information of a
remote state, if the participating state follows its own
procedures for imposing adverse action.
Nothing in the Compact would override a participating
state’s decision that participation in an alternative program
may be used in lieu of adverse action and that participation
would remain non-public if required by the participating
state’s laws. Participating states would be required to require
licensees who enter any alternative program in lieu of
discipline to agree not to practice pursuant to a Compact
privilege in any other participating state during the term of the
alternative program without prior authorization from the other
participating state.
Any participating state in which a licensee is applying to
practice or is practicing pursuant to a Compact privilege
would be able to investigate actual or alleged violations of the
statutes and regulations authorizing the practice of dentistry
or dental hygiene in any other participating state in which the
dentist or dental hygienist holds a license or Compact
privilege.
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 A remote state would have the authority to:
● Take adverse actions as set forth in the Compact
against a licensee’s compact privilege in the state;
● In furtherance of its rights and responsibilities
under the Compact and the Commission’s rules,
issue subpoenas for both hearings and
investigations that require the attendance and
testimony of witnesses and the production of
evidence. Subpoenas issued by a state licensing
authority in a participating state for the attendance
and testimony of witnesses, or the production of
evidence from another participating state, would be
enforced in the latter state by any court of
competent jurisdiction, according to the practice
and procedure of that court applicable to
subpoenas issued in proceedings pending before
it. The issuing authority would be required to pay
any witness fees, travel expenses, mileage, and
other fees required by the service statutes of the
state where the witnesses or evidence is located;
and
● If otherwise permitted by state law, recover from
the licensee the costs of investigations and
disposition of cases resulting from any adverse
action taken against that licensee.
In addition to the authority granted to a participating
state by its dentist or dental hygienist licensure act or other
applicable state law, a participating state would be able to
jointly investigate licensees with other participating states.
Participating states would be required to share any
significant investigative information, litigation, or compliance
materials in furtherance of any joint or individual investigation
initiated under the Compact.


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 After a licensee’s Compact privilege in a remote state is
terminated, the remote state could continue an investigation
of the licensee that began when the licensee had a Compact
privilege in that remote state.
If the investigation yields what would be a significant
investigative information had the licensee continued to have a
Compact privilege in that remote state, the remote state
would report the presence of the information to the data
system as required by the Compact as if it was significant
investigative information.

Establishment and Operation of the Commission
(Section 7)
The Compact would provide for participating states to
create and establish a joint government agency whose
membership would consist of all participating states that have
enacted the Compact. The Commission would be an
instrumentality of the participating states acting jointly and not
an instrumentality of any one state. The Commission would
come into existence on or after the effective date of Compact.
Each participating state would have and be limited to
one Commissioner selected by that state’s licensing authority
or, if the state has more one state licensing authority, selected
collectively by the stat