LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6409 NOTE PREPARED: Jan 21, 2025
BILL NUMBER: HB 1031 BILL AMENDED: Jan 21, 2025
SUBJECT: Dental Matters.
FIRST AUTHOR: Rep. Goss-Reaves BILL STATUS: CR Adopted - 1
st
House
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: Dental Compact– The bill establishes the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact
(DDH Compact). The bill provides the requirements states must follow in order to participate in the DDH
Compact. The bill provides that dentists and dental hygienists may practice in participating states so long as
the dentists and dental hygienists meet certain criteria. The bill provides that active military members and
their spouses should pay reduced or no fees in order to practice in participating states.
The bill establishes a governing commission and sets out its powers, duties, financing, and liability. The bill
provides various mechanisms for the participating states and the governing commission to regulate the
interstate practice of dentists and dental hygienists. The bill also provides for various contingencies,
including the process to effect, amend, enforce, withdraw from, or terminate the DDH Compact.
Other Miscellaneous Provisions– The bill makes technical corrections. The bill also removes certain
language regarding the regulation of dentists.
Effective Date: July 1, 2025.
Explanation of State Expenditures: Dental Compact– Joining the DDH Compact would increase the
workload of the Professional Licensing Agency (PLA) and the State Board of Dentistry beyond routine
administrative functions. Implementation of the DDH Compact is expected to require between $170 and
$41,600 in IT staff time and implementation costs in FY 2026. After implementation, the PLA would incur
between $0 and $7,000 in ongoing annual operating expenses related to administering the DDH Compact.
(There are currently enough states within the DDH Compact for Indiana to join immediately after the bill’s
effective date.)
PLA operating expenses are paid from state General Fund appropriations. The following table provides a
breakdown of estimated initial and ongoing expenditures required for the State to join the DDH Compact.
HB 1031 1 Table. Estimated PLA Expenditures for the Dentist & Dental Hygienist Licensure Compact
Expense
FY 2026^ FY 2027 & Subsequent
Years
Low
Estimate
High
Estimate
Low
Estimate
High
Estimate
PLA IT Staff Costs to Implement * $170 $34,000 - -
PLA IT Database Implementation/Start-Up Costs** $0 $7,600 - -
Delegate Travel*** - - $0 $1,000
Annual Assessment Fee**** - - $0 $6,000
TOTAL $170 $41,600 $0 $7,000
^Assumes Indiana would join Compact in FY 2026.
*Estimated salary cost of existing staff to complete the bill’s requirements.
**Estimate is based on PLA provided estimates for IT implementation costs for currently operational compacts the State has joined. The
estimate has been modified by OFMA by the amount licenses currently active in the proposed compact profession.
***Includes average costs for domestic airfare, lodging, meals, and ground transportation.
****Possible assessment fee range based on assessments of similar license compacts.
Attorney General and Board of Dentistry– The Attorney General’s Office and the Board of Dentistry would
experience an increase in workload for investigatory and disciplinary procedures to the extent that complaints
are made against out-of-state practitioners practicing in Indiana under the DDH Compact or Indiana licensees
practicing in other states. The Board of Dentistry would also be required to pay any witness fees and travel
expenses necessary to summon witnesses from other compact states for hearings held by the Board of
Dentistry. The volume of such complaints and disciplinary actions is expected to be minimal.
Additional Information–
Commissioner Travel– It is assumed that any business travel required of Indiana’s appointed delegate for the
DDH Compact Commission would be at the expense of the PLA. However, the bill provides that the
Commission must meet at least once per year and may meet by telecommunication, video conference, or
other similar electronic means. Costs for Indiana’s delegate to attend annual meetings are estimated between
$0 (if electronic meetings are held) and $1,000 per year, based on recent domestic airfare and lodging costs.
Uniform Data Set– Upon joining the DDH Compact, the bill would require the PLA to submit a uniform
database containing certain identifying, licensure, and disciplinary information to the Commission’s
coordinated database on all participating practitioners. Each member state is required to monitor the database
to determine whether adverse action has been taken against any licensee or license applicant. Similar
requirements were included in the authorization of the Nurse Licensure Compact, which was recently
implemented by the PLA. The PLA estimated costs of IT implementation/start-up costs for harmonizing its
licensure database with the Nurse Licensure Compact’s national database, at $165,250, which was funded
through a grant awarded by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Also, the PLA has estimated
the cost at $60,000 in implementation/start-up costs of harmonizing their database with the Physical
Therapist Compact’s database. The cost of implementation was also covered with a grant from the Federation
of State Boards of Physical Therapy.
HB 1031 2 Adverse Action– The bill grants Indiana the authority to investigate and take adverse action against a dentist
or dental hygienist’s compact privileges in Indiana. It is likely the Attorney General’s Office and the Board
of Dentistry would be the state’s advocates for investigating and taking adverse action. It is likely the
Attorney General and the Board of Dentistry would conduct any investigations and take action within their
existing staff and resource levels.
Annual Compact Membership Fee– A state membership fee has not yet been established. According to the
DDH Compact website, “[t]he first seven states to pass the compact will make up the initial Commission.
They will set up the fee structure. Only two active licensure compacts assess the state with a participation
fee. Whether or not the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact will charge a fee will be up to the Commission
which is made up of member states.” Currently, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission
charges a service fee to each interstate license applicant. However, the Nursing Compact charges member
states an annual fee of $6,000. Therefore, the fiscal impact estimate assumes a minimum fee of $0 to a
maximum fee of $6,000 that would be assessed, depending on what the DDH Compact Commission decides.
Other Miscellaneous Provisions– The PLA may have an additional workload to update their website and
practitioners of the changes under this provision. It is likely the PLA would be able to make any necessary
changes as a routine administrative action.
Explanation of State Revenues: Summary– If a significant number of out-of-state dentists and dental
hygienists holding Indiana licenses choose to forego Indiana license renewal for compact authorization to
practice in Indiana, the bill could potentially result in a reduction in state General Fund revenue from license
fees estimated between $31,000 and $93,000 per biennium. However, the bill provides that member states
may charge a fee for granting compact privileges. Therefore, Indiana could potentially recoup some or all
of this lost revenue through compact privilege fees, depending on rules adopted by the Commission relating
to member state fees. Any revenue impact would not be expected until the fiscal year that compact privileges
begin to be granted in Indiana (FY 2026 at the earliest).
Additional Information– The Board of Dentistry currently collects a biennial license renewal fee of $100 for
dentists and $50 for dental hygienists. In FY 2023 and FY 2024, the Board of Dentistry collected
approximately $1.03 M from license fees, with a significant majority of that amount [$0.907 M] collected
in FY 2024. As of November 2024, there were 9,788 dentists and dental hygienists with an active Indiana
license, and 8,286 licensed dentists and dental hygienists with an in-state address. Estimates of possible
revenue reduction assume between 25% and 75% of the out-of-state licensees would choose not to renew
their Indiana licenses upon receiving compact privileges.
Explanation of Local Expenditures:
Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Professional Licensing Agency; State Board of Dentistry; Attorney General.
Local Agencies Affected:
Information Sources: https://ddhcompact.org; https://ddhcompact.org/compact-map;
https://ddhcompact.org/faq; https://www.ncsbn.org/public-files/FY21-NLCAnnualReport.pdf;
https://www.imlcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/IMLCC-Rule-Chapter-3-Administrative-Rule-on-Fee
s-Amended-May-22-2017.pdf;
HB 1031 3 Indiana Handbook of Taxes, Revenues and Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2023;
PLA license search and verify tool, November 2024.
Fiscal Analyst: Chris Baker, 317-232-9851.
HB 1031 4