Committee On Governmental Affairs
SB 2670
On Friday, April 11th, SB2670 passed as amended on the Senate floor. FDHA requested that any language pertaining to supervision levels for the dental hygienist should be removed from the bill. You can visit the final language at The Florida Senate web site. You may be asking what happened to our section of the bill. The Florida Dental Association opposed the initial language and in negotiations with the Governor's office, FDA developed "alternative language" which was presented as an accepted compromise that all dental related professional organizations would agree to. In actuality, it placed more RESTRICTIONS on our practice act. We were able have the restrictive language removed. As for the progression of the House Bill, it has not even been heard in committee yet. It is interesting that the Vice Chair of the House Health Care Committee that the bill was assigned to is Rep. Alan Hays, a Retired Dentist.
President McDonough, Tami Miller, Cookie Martin, myself and our lobbyists, Fred, Katie and Trevor had weekly, sometimes daily, conference calls to stay on top of this legislation. The week of Smile Day, Jackie, Tami, Cookie and Trevor put countless hours of work at the Capitol, meeting with key legislators and leadership. Working on this bill was definitely a team effort. I want to assure you that even though we did not get the language that we had hoped for, we have been successful in building a relationship with the Governor's office. The most important message to take from this session is who truly lost...the poor-under served citizens of Florida. We are going to fight to make a change for those who cannot fight for themselves. Governor Crist is committed to making a change to improve dental health. You will see this pursuit continue. Thank you for hard work and commitment.
Betty Dalton, R.D.H.
Chairperson FDHA Council on Governmental Affairs
