Committee approves bill giving local water authorities option to remove fluoride; debate centers on public health and costs

House Bill 16, which would return authority over community water fluoridation to local water-system governing bodies, passed the Committee on Health Services after extended testimony from medical professionals, public-health advocates, water customers and the bill sponsor.

"House Bill 16 does one thing and one thing only," Representative David Hale (substituting for Representative Mark Hart) told the committee. "This does not mandate removal. It just brings it back to a local body of control." Hale said the bill would allow local governing boards for water districts or city councils to choose whether to discontinue fluoridation.

Supporters, including dentist Dr. Jack Call and registered nurse Cindy Batson, argued for local control and raised concerns about cost and potential health effects. Dr. Call described fluoridation in broad terms as "mass medication without informed consent" and urged the committee to apply the precautionary principle; Batson noted Kentucky is one of 13 states with a mandate and said Kentucky's requirement is the most stringent of those states.

Opponents included the Kentucky Dental Association, the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition, University of Kentucky pediatric dentistry officials and other clinicians who said community water fluoridation is an effective, equitable public-health measure. Dr. Steve Robertson, executive director of the Kentucky Dental Association, said decades of study support fluoridation at the level used in Kentucky (target 0.7 parts per million), and warned of higher Medicaid costs if fluoridation rates decline. "For every 10 percent of Kentuckians that are taken off water fluoridation, we can anticipate a $19,100,000 increase in Medicaid expenses," Robertson said, citing public-health analyses presented to the committee.

Public-health and clinical testimony offered data and experience: Kelly Taube of Kentucky Voices for Health said fluoridation costs about 50 cents per person per year and that the state's target concentration is 0.7 parts per million (with many plants operating nearer 0.6 ppm). University and clinical witnesses described higher tooth-decay rates among Kentucky children and warned that removal would worsen access challenges where dental care is already scarce.

The committee received questions on operational issues, including which entity would decide when a water system serves multiple jurisdictions and whether decisions would be made by elected bodies or appointed water-district boards. Representative Fleming asked about ownership and governance of water systems; sponsors said structures vary across the state and that the governing board of the system would make the decision.

The committee voted to report the bill: the chair announced "House Bill 16 passes with 11 yes votes, 4 no votes and no passes." Sponsors said the bill does not itself remove fluoride but would allow local systems to opt out if their governing body so chose; opponents warned lawmakers to consider costs and public-health consequences before devolving the decision to local districts.

The transcript shows both extensive expert testimony and numerous committee questions but does not include a fiscal offset plan for potential Medicaid impacts if fluoridation were reduced or removed. Several members said they wanted clarifying amendment language about which governing bodies could authorize changes and indicated interest in more study of Medicaid budget impacts before final floor action.