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Committee hears mixed testimony on dentist and dental hygienist compact (HB 4935)
Summary
Supporters told the House Rules Committee the compact would ease licensure portability and help strained dental safety‑net providers; opponents warned it could lower Michigan standards and raised unanswered questions about discipline reporting and data‑center costs.
The Michigan House Rules Committee heard testimony March 19 on House Bill 49 35, a dentist and dental hygienist interstate compact intended to allow licensed practitioners to practice across member states more easily.
Representative Fairbairn told the committee the compact, backed by the Council of State Governments, the Department of Defense, the American Dental Association and the American Dental Hygienists Association, would create reciprocity, increase workforce mobility and establish a shared interstate verification and disciplinary data system. She said there are "approximately 200,000 licensed dentists and approximately 215,000 licensed dental hygienists in the United States," and said the compact aims to reduce licensure barriers and expand access.
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