SENATE, No. 3983

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED JUNE 21, 2021

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Somerset)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Removes requirement for branch office registration certificates and modernizes requirements to notify State and consumers of locations where dentists provide services.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act concerning branch office registration certificates issued by the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry, and amending R.S.45:6-10.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    R.S.45:6-10 is amended to read as follows:

     45:6-10.      Every licensed dentist shall procure from the secretary-treasurer of the board on or before November 1 each year an annual certificate of registration. Such certificate shall be issued by the secretary-treasurer upon payment of a fee of $8.00 for those in active practice within the State or $4.00 for those not practicing within the State; provided, however, that any dentist licensed after July 1 in any year shall only pay a registration fee of $2.00 for the remainder of such year.  A nonactive registration certificate shall be issued to those not practicing within the State and should a nonactive registrant desire to practice during the registration year he may upon payment of an additional $4.00 to the secretary-treasurer with the return of the nonactive registration certificate for cancellation, be issued an active certificate of registration.  All active certificates so issued shall be prima facie evidence of the right of the holder to practice dentistry in this State. Prior to the issuance of the initial certificate, a licensed dentist shall list for the secretary-treasurer, to the best of the dentist’s knowledge and on a form or in a format to be determined by the board, the locations, known at the time of notification to the secretary-treasurer, at which the licensee will be providing dental services. These locations shall not include a hospital or institution which shall receive no fees, other than entrance registration fees, for the services rendered by the dentist and for which the dentist shall receive no fees or compensation directly or indirectly for such services rendered and locations at which the licensee renders necessary dental services for patients confined to their homes, hospitals or institutions.

     [Every licensee holding an active registration certificate who may practice at any place other than that address for which his active registration certificate is issued shall be required to obtain from the secretary-treasurer for a fee of $2.00 a branch office registration certificate for each and every location wherein he practices;  provided, that nothing herein contained, shall be construed to require an active licensee to obtain a branch office certificate for the purpose of serving on the staff of a hospital or institution which receives no fees (other than entrance registration fees) for the services rendered by the dentist and that the dentist receives no fees or compensation directly or indirectly for such

services rendered; and further provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to require an active  licensee to obtain a branch office certificate for the purpose of rendering necessary dental services for their patients confined to their homes, hospitals  or institutions.]

     The secretary-treasurer of the board shall, on or before October 1 each year, mail to each licensed dentist, a printed blank form to be properly filled out and returned by such licensed person to said secretary-treasurer, together with the fee herein fixed for such annual registration. There shall be required, as part of the form, space reserved for the licensed dentist to list each location at which the licensee provides dental services. These locations shall not include a hospital or institution which receives no fees, other than entrance registration fees, for the services rendered by the dentist and that the dentist receives no fees or compensation directly or indirectly for such services rendered and locations at which the licensee renders necessary dental services for patients confined to their homes, hospitals or institutions. Upon receipt of such form and fee, the annual certificate of registration shall be issued and transmitted.  The board shall cause a notice to be [inserted in not less than 3 newspapers, 1 in the city of Trenton, 1 in the city of Camden, and 1 in the  city of Newark,] posted, in a conspicuous manner, on the website of the Division of Consumer Affairs to the effect that such annual registration will be required.  Such notice shall be [printed in such papers, once a week for 3 consecutive weeks] posted on the division’s website between September 1 and October 1, each year.  Any person who, for at least 25 years, shall have been licensed to practice dentistry in New Jersey and who desires to retire from the practice thereof, and during his retirement to refrain from practicing dentistry, upon application to the secretary-treasurer of the board, may be registered annually, without the payment of any registration fee, as a retired dentist.  The certificate of registration which shall be issued to a retired dentist shall state, among other things, that the holder has been licensed to practice dentistry in New Jersey but that during his retirement he shall not practice dentistry.  The holder of a certificate of registration as a retired dentist shall be entitled to resume the practice of dentistry at any time;  provided, he first shall have obtained from the secretary-treasurer an annual certificate of registration as  hereinbefore provided.  The license of any person who fails to procure any annual certificate of registration, or in lieu thereof an annual certificate of  registration as a retired dentist, at the time and in the manner required by  this section may be suspended by the board [in the manner provided by sections 45:6-7 to 45:6-9 of this Title]. Any license so suspended shall be reinstated at any time within 3 years from the date of such suspension upon the payment of all past due annual registration fees and an additional reinstatement fee of $25.00.  Any person whose license shall have been suspended for such cause  shall, during the period of such suspension, be regarded as an unlicensed  person and, in case he shall continue or engage in the practice of dentistry  during such period, shall be liable to the penalties prescribed by section 45:6-13 of this Title for practicing dentistry without a license. Any person to whom a certificate of registration as a retired dentist shall have been issued who shall continue or engage in the practice of dentistry without first having obtained a certificate of registration authorizing him to resume the practice of dentistry, shall be liable to the penalties prescribed by section 45:6-13 of this Title for practicing dentistry without a license.

(cf: P.L.1959, c.151, s.1)

 

     2.  This act shall take effect immediately but apply to individuals approved for initial licensure or licensure renewal, reinstatement or reactivation, who are issued a certificate of registration by the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry on or after the effective date of this act, and who may practice at a location other than the location for which the registration certificate is issued.    

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill removes the requirement in current law for a separate permit for each branch office where a licensed and registered dentist provides services, if that dentist provides services at a place other than the location where the required certificate of registration was issued. Under the bill, a dentist would be required to notify the secretary-treasurer of the New Jersey State Board of Dentistry, to the best of their knowledge and on a form or in a format as to be determined by the board, prior to the issuance of an initial certificate the addresses of the locations where dental services are to be provided by the licensee. The bill requires the same information to be included on the form sent by the secretary-treasurer annually to all licensed dentists for a new registration certificate. These locations do not include 1) hospitals or institutions that receives no fees, other than entrance registration fees, for the services rendered by the dentist and where the dentist receives no fees or compensation directly or indirectly for services rendered and 2) the homes, hospitals or institutions where a patient is confined and receives necessary dental services.

     Additionally, language in current law requiring the board to advertise in various newspapers on the need for licensed dentists to obtain new registration certificates is removed and replaced in the bill with a provision to require the Division of Consumer Affairs, under which the board is governed, to post notification, in a conspicuous manner, about the need for a new registration certificate on its website. Lastly, language in current law referencing repealed statutes is also removed in the bill.