STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1061-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1671

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 1671, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to permit licensed dental hygienists to place interim therapeutic restorations in public health settings under the general supervision of a licensed dentist.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene; Hawaiʻi Oral Health Coalition; Hawaii Dental Hygienists' Association; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; AlohaCare; Hawaii Dental Service; and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Dentistry and Hawaii Dental Association.

Your Committee finds that many Hawaii residents lack sufficient access to traditional dental clinics and rely on community-based care options in public health settings. Unfortunately, options for delivering preventive services, such as interim therapeutic restorations, are limited in these settings. Your Committee further finds that allowing trained dental hygienists to place interim therapeutic restorations in public health settings while under a licensed dentist's general supervision is a cost-effective way to reach at-risk children and adults in the community. Your Committee also finds that taking proactive steps to strengthen community-based oral health programs improves access to early treatment and reduces the prevalence of advanced tooth decay among Hawaii residents, thereby reducing the need for more costly and urgent treatment in the future.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Adding an additional requirement for licensed dental hygienists to be certified by the Board of Dentistry as meeting the requirements established by the Board; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1671, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1671, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

SCOT Z. MATAYOSHI, Chair