The State Board of Dental Examiners (Board) proposes an amendment to rule §102.1, concerning fees. This amendment will increase fees to account for the agency changing to biennial renewals for dental licensure, as well as providing funding for the Board's mandated changes enacted in S.B. 313. This amended rule incorporates requirements due to enactment of SB 313 and changes to the General Appropriations Act in the eighty-fifth Texas Legislature Regular Session, 2017, relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, resulting in an appropriations increase of $222,943 in fiscal year 2019. The mandated increases are effective on September 1, 2018, and are as follows:

DDS Biennial Renewal +$150

DDS Biennial Renewal - Late 1 to 90 days +$150

DDS Biennial Renewal - Late 91 to 365 days +$150

DDS Faculty Biennial Renewal +$97

DDS Faculty Biennial Renewal Late 1 to 90 days +$97

DDS Faculty Biennial Renewal Late 91 to 365 days +97

DDS Nitrous Level 2-4 Permits +$200

DDS Nitrous Renewals Permits Levels 2-4 Permits +$50

DDS Conversion Fee-Faculty to Full Privilege +$67

DDS Application to Reactive a Retired License +$68

DDS Reinstatement of a Canceled Dental License +$68

DDS Conversion Fee - Full Privilege to Faculty +$67

DDS Conversion Fee-Temporary Licensure by Credentials to Full Privilege +$72

DH Biennial Renewal +$115

DH Biennial Renewal Late 1 to 90 days +$115

DH Biennial Renewal Late 91 to 365 days +$115

DH Faculty Biennial Renewal +$115

DH Faculty Biennial Renewal Late 1 to 90 days +$115

DH Faculty Biennial Renewal Late 91 to 365 days +$115

DH Conversion Fee - Faculty to Full Privilege +$7

DH Reinstatement of a Cancelled Dental Hygiene License +$4

DH Conversion Fee - Full Privilege to Faculty +$12

Annual Mobile Renewals +$1

W. Boyd Bush, Jr., Ed.D., Executive Director, has determined that for the first five-year period the proposed rule is in effect, the fiscal implications for state government will be that the Board will collect an appropriate amount of fees to offset appropriations as a result of S.B. 313.

W. Boyd Bush, Jr. has also determined that for the first five-year period the proposed rule is in effect, the public benefit anticipated as a result of this rule will be the agency's compliance with legislative directives and the assurance that the Board collects appropriate funds to offset the appropriated funding for public safety and welfare programs through S.B. 313.

W. Boyd Bush, Jr. has determined that an economic impact statement and regulatory flexibility analysis for small businesses, micro-businesses, and rural communities is necessary for this rule. Dental annual renewals, DDS faculty annual renewals, Dental hygienists annual renewals and dental hygienists faculty annual renewal fees are being doubled to account for biennial renewals adopted after the enactment of S.B. 313. DDS conversion fees faculty to full privilege, application to reactivate a retired license, reinstatement of a canceled dental license, full privilege to faculty and a conversion fee - temporary license by credentials to full private are being changed to ensure all correct fees are being applied where necessary. These include a $3-5 Texas Online fee, $7 Peer Assistance fee, $1-5 Patient Protection Fee, $55 HB 3201 fee and $1 NPDB fee. Dental hygienists conversion fee faculty to full privilege, reinstatement of a canceled dental hygiene license and conversion fee temporary licensure by credentials to full privilege are being changed to ensure all correct fees are applied where necessary. These include a $3-4 Texas Online fee, $2 Peer Assistance fee, $1-5 Patient Protection Fee, and $1 NPDB fee. The annual mobile renewal fee was adjusted to include a $1 patient protection fee. DDS Nitrous permit levels 2-4 fees were raised from $60 to $260. This will potentially affect an average of 270 new permit requests. DDS nitrous renewals levels 2-4 fees were raised from $10 to $60. This will potentially affect an average of 3,400 permit holders. These fees incorporate changes to Article I, §18.33, of the General Appropriations Act, due to enactment of S.B. 313, eighty-fifth Texas Legislature Regular Session, 2017, relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, resulting in an increase of $222,943 in fiscal year 2019. Increases mandated by the legislature are effective on September 1, 2018. These changes potentially effect up to 17,985 dentists, 14,054 dental hygienists, and 61 mobile units. Some of these practitioners work in small or micro-businesses, and some of these practitioners are located in rural areas of the state. The Board reviewed several possible methods of apportioning the necessary increase of fees across all license and permit holders, and after receiving stakeholder input and considering comments at public meetings, determined that the above distribution was the most equitable and appropriate solution. These fee changes are a direct result of direction provided by the Texas Legislature, and as such, must be adopted by the Board in some form.

W. Boyd Bush, Jr. has also determined that for the first five-year period the proposed rule is in effect, the following government growth effects apply: the rule does not create or eliminate a government program; implementation of the proposed rule does not require the creation or elimination of employee positions; the implementation of the proposed rule does not require an increase or decrease in future appropriations; the proposed rule requires an increase in fees paid to the agency; the proposed rule does not create a new regulation; the proposed rule expands an existing regulation; the proposed rule does not increase the number of individuals subject to it; the proposed rule does not adversely affect the state's economy.

Comments on the proposed new rule may be submitted to W. Boyd Bush, Jr., Ed.D., Executive Director, 333 Guadalupe, Suite 3-800, Austin, Texas 78701, by Fax to (512) 305-9364, or by email to official_rules_comments@tsbde.texas.gov no later than 30 days from the date that the proposed rule is published in the Texas Register.

This rule is proposed under Texas Occupations Code §254.001(a), which gives the Board authority to adopt rules necessary to perform its duties and ensure compliance with state laws relating to the practice of dentistry to protect the public health and safety, and Texas Occupations Code §254.004, which authorizes the Board to collect sufficient fees to cover the cost of administering the Dental Practice Act.

This proposed rule does not affect any statutes. W. Boyd Bush, Jr., has determined that this rule is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Texas, and as such, Texas Government Code §2001.0045(c)(6) is applicable to this proposed rule.