1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; establishing a statewide initiative for early dental prevention; 
1.3 	establishing grants for dental operatory expansion; appropriating money;
1.4 	proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [144.3875] EARLY DENTAL PREVENTION INITIATIVE.
1.7 	(a) The commissioner of health, in collaboration with the commissioner of human 
1.8 	services, shall implement a statewide initiative to increase awareness among communities 
1.9 	of color and recent immigrants on the importance of early preventive dental intervention 
1.10 	for infants and toddlers before and after primary teeth appear.
1.11 	(b) The commissioner shall develop educational materials and information for 
1.12 	expectant and new parents within the targeted communities that include the importance 
1.13 	of early dental care to prevent early cavities, including proper cleaning techniques and 
1.14 	feeding habits, before and after primary teeth appear.
1.15 	(c) The commissioner shall develop a distribution plan to ensure that the materials 
1.16 	are distributed to expectant and new parents within the targeted communities, including, 
1.17 	but not limited to, making the materials available to health care providers, community 
1.18 	clinics, WIC sites, and other relevant sites within the targeted communities.
1.19 	(d) In developing these materials and distribution plan, the commissioner shall work 
1.20 	collaboratively with members of the targeted communities, dental providers, pediatricians, 
1.21 	child care providers, and home visiting nurses.
1.22 	(e) The commissioner shall, with input from stakeholders listed in paragraph (d), 
1.23 	develop and pilot incentives to encourage early dental care within one year of an infant's 
1.24 	teeth erupting.

2.1 	Sec. 2. GRANTS FOR DENTAL OPERATORY EXPANSION.
 2.2 	(a) The commissioner of health shall award grants to private practicing dentists or 
2.3 	nonprofit dental clinics for the purpose of expanding their dental practice by adding a 
2.4 	dental operatory and necessary dental equipment. To be eligible for the grants, the dentist 
2.5 	or clinic must meet the following requirements:
2.6 	(1) the operatory to be added must be at a clinic or dental office designated as a 
2.7 	critical access dental provider under section 256B.76, subdivision 4; and
2.8 	(2) the dentist or clinic does not restrict access or services because of a patient's 
2.9 	financial limitations or enrollment in a state public health care program.
2.10 	(b) Grant applications may be submitted to the commissioner at any time, and the 
2.11 	commissioner shall award grants to any applicant that meets the requirements until all 
2.12 	appropriated grant funds have been expended. Grants may be awarded to an expansion 
2.13 	already in progress and an applicant may apply for more than one expansion grant.
2.14 	(c) The maximum award per expansion grant shall be no more than 33 percent of the 
2.15 	total costs for a given project expansion, including site acquisition, design, construction, 
2.16 	and equipment costs. An applicant shall describe in its application how proposed new 
2.17 	operatories and dental equipment will be used to expand services to state public program 
2.18 	enrollees and other uninsured and underinsured patients in underserved communities. A 
2.19 	priority will be placed on applicants that can demonstrate that the expansion will address 
2.20 	a high regional need for dental care. The commissioner shall consider the applicant's 
2.21 	history, if any, of successful expansions.

2.22 	Sec. 3. APPROPRIATION; EARLY DENTAL PREVENTION; DENTAL 
2.23 	OPERATORY EXPANSION.
 2.24 	(a) $....... is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2017, from the general 
2.25 	fund to the commissioner of health for the development and distribution of the early dental 
2.26 	prevention initiative under Minnesota Statutes, section 144.3875.
2.27 	(b) $2,000,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2016 from the general fund to the 
2.28 	commissioner of health for dental operatory expansion grants. This is a onetime 
2.29 	appropriation and shall be available until expended.