Bill Text: NJ S3389 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Office of State Dental Director and New Jersey Oral Health Commission.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-06-29 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S3389 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-S3389-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH PENNACCHIO
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Office of State Dental Director and New Jersey Oral Health Commission.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning oral health services, amending R.S.45:6-1, and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) There is established within the Department of Health the Office of the State Dental Director. The State Dental Director shall be appointed by the Governor in consultation with the New Jersey Dental Association. The director shall be a dentist or a dental hygienist licensed in New Jersey who has practiced in the State for at least 10 years. The director may serve in a volunteer or salaried capacity.
2. (New section) a. The State Dental Director shall:
(1) Develop and facilitate models of public and private partnerships for oral health awareness campaigns to improve the access, acceptability, and use of oral health services in this State;
(2) Serve as an information and resource center for specific oral health information and data concerning oral health and disseminate such data to interested parties;
(3) In consultation with the Commissioner of Health, review, recommend, and develop, or cause to be developed, appropriate oral health education materials and disseminate the materials to local school districts throughout the State;
(4) In collaboration with appropriate State agencies and private organizations, provide, or cause to be provided, assistance to Early Head Start and Head Start programs and local school districts to develop programs in Head Start programs and elementary and secondary schools that stress good nutrition, sound oral hygiene, and healthy lifestyles, as well as the prevention of oral disease;
(5) Serve as an advocate for the adoption and implementation of effective measures to improve the oral health of State residents and eliminate disparities among the various racial and ethnic populations of this State concerning access to high-quality oral health care, utilization of oral health care services, and oral health status;
(6) Develop recommendations for the most effective means of providing outreach to communities throughout the State to ensure their maximum participation in publicly-funded oral health programs; and
(7) Evaluate oral health programs in other states to assess their efficacy and potential for replication in this State, and make recommendations regarding the adoption of such programs, as appropriate.
b. The director may apply for and accept any grant of money from the federal government, private foundations, or other sources, which may be available for programs related to oral health. Monies may be used from private sources to pay for the salary of the director and to implement the recommendations of the director and the New Jersey Oral Health Commission established under section 3 of this act.
c. The director shall be in charge of all dental health activities and programs that are in or overseen by the Department of Health.
d. The director shall report annually to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, on the work of the director and the New Jersey Oral Health Commission and on the status of oral health in the State.
3. (New section) a. There is established in the Department of Health the New Jersey Oral Health Commission, which shall develop and promote recommendations for policies, events, and awareness campaigns to improve the condition of oral health in this State.
b. The commission shall comprise 15 members, to be appointed as follows:
(1) The State Dental Director, who shall serve as chairperson of the commission;
(2) The Commissioners of Banking and Insurance, Children and Families, Education, and Human Services, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio; and
(3) 10 public members, who shall be appointed by the Governor as follows: one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Dental Association; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; one member upon the recommendation of the Medical Society of New Jersey; one member upon the recommendation of the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Dental Hygienists' Association; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Dental Assistants' Association; one member upon the recommendation of the Arc of New Jersey; and two members upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Association of Health Plans, one of whom shall represent Medicaid managed care organizations and one of whom shall represent the dental insurance industry.
c. The public members shall serve for a term of five years, except that, of the 10 public members first appointed, the first three members appointed shall serve for a term of three years, the second three members appointed shall serve for a term of four years, and the next four members appointed shall serve for a term of five years. A public member is eligible to be reappointed to the commission. A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring in the membership of the commission for any reason other than the expiration of the term shall have a term of appointment for the unexpired term only. All vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
d. The commission shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members. The chairperson shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the commission.
e. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
f. The commission shall meet at least twice per calendar year, and at such other times as the chairperson shall designate.
g. The Department of Health shall provide staff services and other necessary support to the commission. The commission may also request the assistance and services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, task force, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.
4. R.S.45:6-1 is amended to read:
45:6-1. The State Board of Registration and Examination in Dentistry in the Division of Professional Boards of the Department of Law and Public Safety, hereinafter in this chapter designated as the "board," created and established by an act entitled "An act to regulate the practice of dentistry in the State of New Jersey, and to repeal certain acts now relating to the same," approved March 31, 1915 (L.1915, c.146, p.261), as amended and supplemented, is continued, and shall hereafter be known and designated as the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry. Wherever in any law, rule, regulation, judicial or administrative proceeding or otherwise, reference is made to the State Board of Registration and Examination in Dentistry, the same shall mean and refer to the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry.
In addition to the State Dental Director or the director's designee, who shall serve ex officio, and two public members, the board shall consist of nine members, eight of whom shall have resided and practiced dentistry in this State for at least 10 years each immediately preceding their appointments and one of whom shall be a dental hygienist appointed by the Governor for a term of 4 years. In appointing such dental hygienist, the Governor shall give due consideration to, but shall not be bound by, the recommendation of the New Jersey Dental Hygienists Association. Upon the expiration of the term of office of any member, [his] the member's successor shall be appointed by the Governor, subject to the provisions of section 45:1-2 of this Title, for a term of 4 years, except that the successors of the members whose terms will expire on June 4, 1949, shall be appointed each for a term expiring on August 31, 1952; the successors of the members whose terms will expire on November 9, 1949, and January 7, 1950, respectively, shall be appointed each for a term expiring on August 31, 1953; the successors of the members whose terms will expire on July 31, 1950, and October 8, 1950, respectively, shall be appointed each for a term expiring on August 31, 1954; and the successors of the members whose terms will expire on July 30, 1951, and November 4, 1951, respectively, shall be appointed each for a term expiring on August 31, 1955. Each member shall hold [his] office until [his] the member's successor is appointed and qualifies. Any vacancy in the membership of the board, occurring from any cause, shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired term only. Upon cause being shown [before him], the Governor may remove a member from office upon proven charges of inefficiency, incompetency, immorality, or professional misconduct.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.46, s.22)
5. This act shall take effect on the 90th day following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Office of the State Dental Director. The State Dental Director will be appointed by the Governor in consultation with the New Jersey Dental Association, and will be a licensed dentist or dental hygienist who has practiced in New Jersey for at least 10 years.
The State Dental Director will be responsible for developing and facilitating model public and private partnerships for oral health awareness campaigns to improve the access, acceptability, and use of oral health services in this State. The director will additionally serve as an information and resource center for specific oral health information and data concerning oral health, and will disseminate such data to interested parties.
In consultation with the Commissioner of Health, the director is to review, recommend, and develop appropriate oral health education materials and disseminate the materials to local school districts throughout the State. In collaboration with appropriate State agencies and private organizations, the director is to assist in developing programs in Head Start programs and elementary and secondary schools that stress good nutrition, sound oral hygiene, healthy lifestyles, and the prevention of oral disease.
The director will serve as an advocate for the adoption and implementation of effective measures to improve oral health and eliminate disparities among the various racial and ethnic populations of this State concerning access to high-quality oral health care, utilization of oral health care services, and oral health status. The director will develop recommendations for the most effective means of providing community outreach to ensure maximum participation in publicly-funded oral health programs, evaluate oral health programs in other states to assess their efficacy and potential for replication in this State, and make recommendations regarding the adoption of such programs.
The director will be in charge of all dental health activities and programs that are in or overseen by the Department of Health, and the director or a designee will serve as an additional, ex officio member of the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry.
The director may apply for and accept any grant of money from the federal government, private foundations, or other sources, which may be available for programs related to oral health.
Additionally, the bill establishes the New Jersey Oral Health Commission in the Department of Health. The commission will be required to develop and promote recommendations for policies, events, and awareness campaigns to improve the condition of oral health in this State. The commission will comprise 15 members, including the State Dental Director, who will serve as chairperson of the commission; the Commissioners of Banking and Insurance, Children and Families, Education, and Human Services, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio; and 10 public members, to be appointed by the Governor upon the recommendations of groups representing various aspects of the health care and dental care industry. The public members will serve for a term of five years, except that, of the 10 public members first appointed, the first three members appointed will serve for a term of three years, the second three members appointed will serve for a term of four years, and the next four members appointed will serve for a term of five years. A public member is eligible to be reappointed to the commission, and vacancies will be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
Members of the commission will serve without compensation, but will be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The commission will meet at least twice per calendar year, and at such other times as the chairperson designates. The Department of Health will provide staff services and other necessary support to the commission.
The director is to report annually to the Governor and the Legislature on the work of the director and the commission and on the status of oral health in the State.
