STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman MICHELE MATSIKOUDIS
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Speight and McCoy
SYNOPSIS
Adopts Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act adopting the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact and supplementing Title 45 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The State of New Jersey enacts and enters into the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact with all other jurisdictions that legally join the compact in the form substantially as follows:
Section 1. Title and Purpose.
This statute shall be known and cited as the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact. The purposes of this compact are to facilitate the interstate practice of dentistry and dental hygiene and improve public access to dentistry and dental hygiene services by providing dentists and dental hygienists licensed in a participating state the ability to practice in participating states in which they are not licensed. The compact does this by establishing a pathway for dentists and dental hygienists licensed in a participating state to obtain a compact privilege that authorizes them to practice in another participating state in which they are not licensed. The compact enables participating states to protect the public health and safety with respect to the practice of such dentists and dental hygienists, through the states authority to regulate the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene in the state. The compact:
a. Enables dentists and dental hygienists who qualify for a compact privilege to practice in other participating states without satisfying burdensome and duplicative requirements associated with securing a license to practice in those states;
b. Promotes mobility and addresses workforce shortages through each participating states acceptance of a compact privilege to practice in that state;
c. Increases public access to qualified, licensed dentists and dental hygienists by creating a responsible, streamlined pathway for licensees to practice in participating states;
d. Enhances the ability of participating states to protect the publics health and safety;
e. Does not interfere with licensure requirements established by a participating state;
f. Facilitates the sharing of licensure and disciplinary information among participating states;
g. Requires 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;
h. Extends 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;
i. Promotes the cooperation of participating states in regulating the practice of dentistry and dental hygiene within those states; and
j. Facilitates the relocation of military members and their spouses who are licensed to practice dentistry or dental hygiene.
Section 2. Definitions.
As used in this compact, unless context requires otherwise:
Active military member means any person with full-time duty status in the Armed Forces of the United States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve components.
Adverse action means disciplinary action or encumbrance imposed on a license or compact privilege by a state licensing authority.
Alternative program means a non-disciplinary monitoring or practice remediation process applicable to a dentist or dental hygienist approved by a state licensing authority of a participating state in which the dentist or dental hygienist is licensed. Alternative program shall include, but not be limited to, programs to which licensees with a substance use disorder are referred in lieu of adverse action.
Clinical assessment means an examination or process required for licensure as a dentist or dental hygienist, as applicable, which examination or process provides evidence of clinical competence in dentistry or dental hygiene, as applicable.
Commissioner means the individual appointed by a participating state to serve as the member of the commission for that participating state.
Compact means this Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact.
Compact privilege means 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.
Continuing professional development means a requirement, as a condition of license renewal, to provide evidence of successful participation in educational or professional activities relevant to practice or area of work.
Criminal background check means the submission of fingerprints or other biometric-based information for an applicant for licensure for the purpose of obtaining the applicants criminal history record information, as defined in 28 C.F.R. s.20.3(d), from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the states criminal history record repository, as defined in 28 C.F.R. s.20.3(f).
Data system means the commissions repository of information about licensees, including, but not limited to, examination, licensure, investigative, compact privilege, adverse action, and alternative program information.
Dental hygienist means an individual who is licensed by a state licensing authority to practice dental hygiene.
Dentist means an individual who is licensed by a state licensing authority to practice dentistry.
Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact Commission or commission means the joint government agency established under the compact comprising each state that has enacted the compact and a national administrative body comprising a commissioner from each state that has enacted the compact.
Encumbered license means a license that a state licensing authority has limited in any way other than through an alternative program.
Executive board means the chair, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer of the commission, as well as any other commissioners as may be determined by commission rule or bylaw.
Jurisprudence requirement means the assessment of an individuals know