On February 24, the House Health and Human Services Committee overwhelmingly voted to table HB 2372. This vote effectively kills this anti-water fluoridation bill for the year in the House. The bill would have required local water departments that fluoridate their water to notify customers that water fluoridation lowers IQs in children.
Many partners worked together to defeat this bill over the last several weeks. Countless calls, emails and visits were made to legislators telling them about the benefits of water fluoridation. Twenty-six organizations provided testimony or statements in opposition to the bill, including a wide range of statewide organizations, public organizations, national advocates and individuals. Thanks in particular go to the five people who testified before the committee:
• Lucynda Raben, DDS
• John Neuberger, DrPH, MPH, MBA, KU School of Medicine & Kansas Public Health Association
• Greg Hill, J.D., Kansas Dental Association
• Brian Smith, E.D., Oral Health Kansas
• Christie Appelhanz, Kansas Action for Children
HB 2372 was introduced in 2013 and originally was scheduled for a hearing in mid-January 2014. That hearing was postponed to early February when it was rescheduled again due to the large winter storm that dumped over 13 inches of snow in Topeka. The outpouring of support for water fluoridation and against the bill continued throughout January and February and is a significant reason the bill was defeated.
Copies of all the testimony provided in opposition to the bill are available below.
Please join us in thanking the House members who defeated the bill.
• Chair: Rep. Dave Crum
• Vice Chair: Rep. Susan Concannon
• Rep. Steve Alford
• Rep. Barbara Bollier
• Rep. Marshall Christmann
• Rep. Daniel Hawkins
TESTIMONY:
Verbal Testimony:
• Lucynda Raben, DDS
• John Neuberger, DrPH, MPH, MBA, KU School of Medicine
& Kansas Public Health Association
• Greg Hill, J.D., Kansas Dental Association
• Brian Smith, E.D., Oral Health Kansas
• Christie Appelhanz, Kansas Action for Children
Statewide Organizations:
• Thuylinh N. Pham, MD, Kansas Chapter of the American
Academy of Pediatrics
• Ron Gaches, J.D., Kansas Dental Hygienists’ Association
• Mitzi McFatrich, Kansas Advocates for Better Care
• Michelle Ponce, Kansas Association of Local Health Departments
• Cathy Harding, Kansas Association for the Medically
Underserved
• Tawny Stottlemire, Kansas Association of Community Action
Programs
• Nicole, Proulx Aiken, Kansas League of Municipalities
• Colin Hansen, Kansas Municipal Utilities
State health foundation Sign-On Letter:
- United Methodist Health Ministry Fund
- Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City
- REACH Healthcare Foundation
National Advocacy Organizations:
• Patrice Pascual, Children’s Dental Health Project
• Shelly Gehshan, Pew Children’s Dental Campaign
• American Dental Hygienists Association
Public Organizations:
• Robert Moser, MD, Kansas Department of Health and
Environment
• Kathy Weno, DDS, JD, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
• Karen Seel, Pinellas County Commissioner, Florida
• Lougene Marsh, MPA, Johnson County Health Department
• Lane Hemsley, Kansas Dental Board
• Steven Levy, DDS, MPH, University of Iowa College of Dentistry
• CaSandra Smith, mother
• Harvard Dental and Medical Schools Deans’ Letter
• Department of Defense Memorandum
Media accounts of the hearing are available here: Kansas Public Radio & Topeka Capitol Journal