H. B. 3054
(By Delegates Martin, Caputo, Hatfield, Brown,
Perdue and Beach)
[Introduced February 13, 2007; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §30-4-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to changing the term of appointment
from five years to four years for the West Virginia Board of
Dental Examiners; changing the composition of the West
Virginia Board of Dental Examiners; and removing the provision
that a person connected with a dental college, school or
dental department of a university is not eligible for
appointment to the West Virginia Board of Dental Examiners.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-4-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. WEST VIRGINIA DENTAL PRACTICE ACT.
§30-4-4. Board of dental examiners.
(a) The "West Virginia Board of Dental Examiners" is hereby
continued. The members of the board in office on the date this section takes effect shall, unless sooner removed, continue to
serve until their respective terms expire and until their
successors have been appointed and qualified.
(b) (1) Commencing with the board terms beginning the first
day of July, two thousand
one seven, the board shall consist of
nine thirteen members appointed for terms of
five four years by the
Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Six members
must be licensed dentists,
five members must be a licensed dental
hygienist, one member must be a nationally certified dental
assistant and one member must be a citizen member who is not
licensed under the provisions of this article and who is not a
dental assistant or a person who performs any services related to
the practice of dentistry.
(2) Each licensed or certified member of the board, at the
time of his or her appointment, must have held a license in this
state or have been nationally certified for a period of not less
than five years immediately preceding the appointment and each
member must be a resident of this state during the appointment
term.
(3) No person connected with a commercial entity that may
derive financial gain from the profession of dentistry
and no
person connected with a dental college, school or dental department
of a university is eligible for appointment to the board.
(4) Each appointment of a licensed dentist, whether for a full term or to fill a vacancy, shall be made by the Governor from among
three nominees selected by the West Virginia Dental Association;
each appointment of a licensed dental hygienist, whether for a full
term or to fill a vacancy, shall be made by the Governor from among
three nominees selected by the West Virginia Dental Hygienists'
Association; and each appointment of a dental assistant, whether
for a full term or to fill a vacancy, shall be made by the Governor
from among three nominees selected by the West Virginia Dental
Assistants' Association. If the appointment is for a full term,
the nominations must be submitted to the Governor not later than
eight months prior to the date on which the appointment becomes
effective. If the appointment is to fill a vacancy, the
nominations must be submitted to the Governor within thirty days
after a request for the nominations have been made by the Governor
to the President of the West Virginia Dental Association, President
of the West Virginia Dental Hygienists' Association or President of
the West Virginia Dental Assistants' Association. If the
association fails to submit to the Governor nominations for an
appointment in accordance with the requirements of this section,
the Governor may make the appointment without the nominations.
(c) No member may serve more than two consecutive full terms
and any member having served two full terms may not be appointed
for one year after completion of his or her second full term. A
member shall continue to serve until his or her successor has been appointed and qualified.
(d) The Governor may remove any member from the board for
neglect of duty, incompetency or official misconduct.
(e) Any member of the board immediately and automatically
forfeits his or her membership if he or she has his or her license
to practice dentistry or dental hygiene suspended or revoked by the
board, is convicted of a felony under the laws of any state or the
United States or becomes a nonresident of this state.
(f) Each member of the board shall receive compensation and
expense reimbursement in accordance with section eleven, article
one of this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the term of
appointment from five years to four years for the West Virginia
Board of Dental Examiners; to change the composition of the West
Virginia Board of Dental Examiners; and to remove the provision
that a person connected with a dental college, school or dental
department of a university is not eligible for appointment to the
West Virginia Board of Dental Examiners.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.