STATE BOARD
OF DENTISTRY[ 49 PA. CODE CH. 33 ] Fees [43 Pa.B. 1857]
[Saturday, April 6, 2013]The State Board of Dentistry (Board) proposes to amend §§ 33.3 and 33.339 (relating to fees; and fees for issuance of permits) to read as set forth in Annex A.
Effective Date
The proposed rulemaking will be effective upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. While the increased application fees will be implemented immediately thereafter, it is anticipated that the increased biennial renewal fees will be implemented with the March 31, 2015, biennial renewal.
Statutory Authority
Section 4(b) of The Dental Law (act) (63 P. S. § 123(b)) requires the Board to increase fees by regulation to meet or exceed projected expenditures if the revenues raised by fees, fines and civil penalties are not sufficient to meet expenditures over a 2-year period.
Background and Need for the Proposed Rulemaking
Under section 4(b) of the act, the Board is required by law to support its operations from the revenue it generates from fees, fines and civil penalties. In addition, the act provides that the Board must increase fees if the revenue raised by fees, fines and civil penalties is not sufficient to meet expenditures over a 2-year period. The Board raises the majority of its revenue through biennial renewal fees. A small percentage of its revenue comes from application fees and civil penalties.
Of the biennial renewal fees targeted for increase in this proposed rulemaking, the local anesthesia permit and public health dental hygiene practitioner certification renewal fees were established in 2009 and this is the first proposed increase. The last time biennial renewal fees were increased was in 2005 when only the dental license and Restricted II anesthesia permit renewal fees were increased. Dentist biennial renewal fees were increased from $100 to $250 and Restricted II anesthesia permits were increased from $25 to $50 at that time. Prior to that, the biennial renewal fees for expanded function dental assistants (EFDA) were adopted in 1998 and have never been increased. Dental hygienist biennial renewal fees have not been raised since 1995 when they increased from $25 to $40. The remaining anesthesia permit renewal fees were adopted in 2005 and have not been increased.
As to application fees, in 1998, the application fees for dentists and dental hygienists were increased from $15 to $20 and the EFDA application fee was established at $20 at that time. These fees have not been increased in the last 14 years. The dental radiology, dental faculty notification and postgraduate training notification fees were established in 2004 and have never been increased.
At the December 16, 2011, Board meeting, representatives from the Department of State's Bureau of Finance and Operations (BFO) presented a summary of the Board's revenue and expenses for Fiscal Years (FY) 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 and projected revenue and expenses through FY 2014-2015. At the current fee levels, the Board receives revenue of approximately $3,231,560 over a 2-year period, while budgeted expenditures for the next 2 fiscal years (FYs 2012-2013 and 2013-2014) are projected at $3.512 million or which is a deficit of $280,440. Therefore, the Board determined that it was necessary to raise fees to meet or exceed projected expenditures, in compliance with section 4(b) of the act. When the BFO first alerted the Board that fee increases were necessary, the Board was looking at increases in biennial renewal fees in the range of 25 to 35%. Later, the Board asked the BFO to provide some alternatives that would not only address biennial renewal fees but also look at application fees because the Board's application fees seemed unusually low compared to other states and many had not been increased since the 1990s. At the April 27, 2012, Board meeting, the BFO presented numerous scenarios with various combinations of biennial renewal fee increases and application fee increases. It was determined that by raising application fees to be more realistic and consistent with surrounding states, the percentage increase to biennial renewal fees, borne by all licensees, could be lower.
As a result, the Board voted at its July 27, 2012, meeting to increase the various application fees to more realistically cover the costs associated with processing those applications and to be consistent with other states and also approved a modest 5% increase in biennial renewal fees as set forth in Annex A. The proposed new biennial renewal and application fees will enable the Board to avoid the projected deficits and meet its estimated expenditures for a number of years to come.
Description of Proposed Amendments
The proposed rulemaking would amend §§ 33.3 and 33.339 to increase application fees to more realistically reflect the current costs associated with processing the applications and to increase biennial renewal fees for various licenses, certificates and permits issued by the Board by 5% to produce adequate revenue to meet projected expenditures as required under section 4(b) of the act.
Specifically, the application fees for initial licensure as a dentist will increase to $200. For dental hygienists and EFDAs, the application fees will increase to $75. In addition, the application fee for dental radiology authorization will increase to $75, as will the notification application for postgraduate trainees and faculty members. Biennial renewal fees for dentists will increase to $263, for dental hygienists to $42 and for EFDAs to $26. Biennial renewal fees for public health dental hygiene practitioners will likewise increase to $42, as will the biennial renewal fee for local anesthesia permits for dental hygienists. Finally, the biennial renewal fee for unrestricted and Restricted I anesthesia permits will increase to $210 and for Restricted II anesthesia permits to $53.
Finally, the temporary EFDA permit fee is proposed to be deleted because the Board no longer issues temporary permits. Temporary permits were established in 1995 under section 11.7 of the act (63 P. S. § 130h) as a temporary measure until a certification examination became available and temporary permits were valid only until the results of the first certification examination.
Fiscal Impact
The proposed rulemaking will increase the biennial renewal fees for licensees of the Board. There are currently approximately 25,300 licensees that will be required to pay more to renew their licenses when they expire in 2015 and thereafter. In addition, increased application fees will impact individuals who apply for initial licenses. Small businesses will be impacted to the extent that they elect to pay the fees on behalf of their licensed employees. Because three out of four dentists are self-employed and 95% of licensees work in dental offices, the vast majority of the Board's licensees work in small businesses. The Board processes an average of approximately 2,000 applications each year. The proposed rulemaking should not have other fiscal impact on the private sector, the general public or political subdivisions of this Commonwealth.
Paperwork Requirements
The proposed rulemaking will require the Board to alter some of its forms to reflect the new fees. However, the proposed rulemaking will not create additional paperwork for the regulated community or for the private sector.
Sunset Date
The act requires the Board to monitor its revenue and costs on a fiscal year and biennial basis. Therefore, a sunset date has not been assigned.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on March 25, 2013, the Board submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and the Chairpersons of the House Professional Licensure Committee and the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Under section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC may convey comments, recommendations or objections to the proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The comments, recommendations or objections must specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final publication of the rulemaking, by the Board, the General Assembly and the Governor of comments, recommendations or objections raised.
Public Comment
Interested persons should submit written comments, suggestions or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking to Cynthia Montgomery, Regulatory Counsel, State Board of Dentistry, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 within 30 days following publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. On comments, reference Regulation No. 16A-4627—Fees.
PHILIP T. SIEGEL, D.D.S.,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-4627. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS CHAPTER 33. STATE BOARD OF DENTISTRY Subchapter A. GENERAL PROVISIONS § 33.3. Fees.
(a) Following is the schedule of fees charged by the Board:
Application fee—dentists[, dental hygienists and expanded function dental assistants $20] $200
Application fee—dental hygienists $75
Application fee—expanded function denta assistants $75
Application fee—certificate of public health dental hygiene practitioner $20
Application fee—local anesthesia permit $20
Criteria approval application fee dentists[, dental hygienists and expanded function dental assistants $35] $200
Criteria approval application fee—dental hygienists $75
Criteria approval application fee expanded function dental assistants $75
Fictitious name registration fee $35
* * * * * Biennial renewal fee dentists [(for the renewal period beginning April 1, 2005, and thereafter) $250] $263
Biennial renewal fee dental hygienists [$40] $42
Biennial renewal fee—expanded function dental assistants [$25] $26
* * * * * Biennial renewal fee—certificate of public health dental hygiene practitioner [$40] $42
Biennial renewal fee—local anesthesia permit [$40] $42
[Temporary permit expanded dental assistants $15]
Application fee—dental radiology authorization [$20] $75
Notification application postgraduate training or faculty member [$25] $75
* * * * * Subchapter E. ADMINISTRATION OF GENERAL ANESTHESIA, DEEP SEDATION, CONSCIOUS SEDATION AND NITROUS OXIDE/OXYGEN ANALGESIA § 33.339. Fees for issuance of permits.
The following fees are charged for the issuance of permits under this subchapter:
(1) Unrestricted permit.
* * * * * (ii) Renewal [$200] $210
* * * * * (2) Restricted permit I.
* * * * * (ii) Renewal [$200] $210
* * * * * (3) Restricted permit II.
* * * * * (ii) Renewal [$50] $53
* * * * * [Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-613. Filed for public inspection April 5, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]
