I. (a) A dental hygienists committee is established, which shall consist of one dental hygienist member of the board, one dentist member of the board, and 3 additional dental hygienist members appointed by the governor and council.
(b) The dentist member of the committee shall have supervised and worked in collaboration with a dental hygienist for a period of at least 3 years immediately preceding appointment to the committee. The dentist member and dental hygienist board member shall be appointed to the committee annually by a majority vote of board members.
(c) The additional non-board dental hygienist members shall serve terms of 3 years, with initial terms staggered to provide for annual appointments. No member of the dental hygienists committee shall serve more than 2 consecutive full terms. The New Hampshire Dental Hygienists’ Association, the New Hampshire Dental Society, and the dental hygiene education community shall each nominate one dental hygienist for appointment as additional members of the committee. Subsequent appointments shall be made from the same nominating authority as the committee member whose term expires.
(d) [Repealed.]
II. The committee shall develop and propose the administrative rules regarding the practice, discipline, education, examination, and licensure of dental hygienists, for the board’s consideration pursuant to RSA 317-A:12. The committee shall have no independent regulatory or disciplinary authority.
III. The rules proposed by the committee may be accepted by the board for adoption under RSA 317-A:12 and RSA 541-A or the board may decline to accept the committee recommendations if the board finds that the proposed rules exceed the jurisdiction or expand the scope of the committee beyond the authority granted in paragraph II, create an undue financial impact on the board, or are not supported by the record.
IV. This section shall not be construed as affecting or changing the scope of practice of the profession of dental hygiene or authorizing the independent practice of dental hygiene.
Source. 2011, 172:1. 2012, 27:4, eff. July 1, 2012. 2018, 316:1, eff. Aug. 24, 2018. 2021, 197:43, II, eff. July 1, 2021.