SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2146        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1349

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Bruce E. Tarr

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing a fluoride task force.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2146        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1349

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act establishing a fluoride task force.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1: Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, there shall be a task force to comprehensively study both the benefits and costs of water supply fluoridation in the Commonwealth. The task force shall consist of ten members: 3 of whom shall be designated by the Governor who individually or collectively shall have expertise in health risk assessment, cost benefit analysis and financial risk management, 1 of whom shall be designated and serve as chair; 2 of whom shall be designated by the senate president, at least one of whom shall have expertise in economics and health care costs, and at least one of whom is a credentialed public water treatment expert with experience in fluoridation and one of whom shall have expertise in wastewater impact on ecosystems and/or health risks from environmental exposures; 1 of whom shall be designated by the senate minority leader, at least one of whom shall be a member of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, and at least one of whom of whom shall have expertise in endocrinology; 1 of whom shall be the secretary of health and human services or their designee; 2 of whom shall be designated by the speaker of the house, one of whom shall have expertise in endocrinology and one of whom shall represent environmental justice communities; 1 of whom shall be designated by the house minority leader, one of whom shall have expertise in the  impact of environmental exposure during pregnancy and/or infancy on health and one of whom of whom shall represent the constituency with medical contraindications to fluoride consumption.

The task force shall: (i) provide an estimate of the economic value of dental care reduction attributed to fluoridation; (ii) calculate the increased cost of health care for citizens of the Commonwealth attributed to water fluoridation. Dental costs shall include the treatment of dental fluorosis. Health costs shall include all relevant adverse effects from ingesting fluoride in doses actually experienced by the population. Education costs shall include Special Education service utilization and reduced workforce productivity due to increased illness and/or reduced intelligence. The Task Force shall also calculate the impact of these costs on the annual budget of the Commonwealth; (iii) consider the costs of avoidance of fluoridated water for pregnant women, bottle-fed babies, thyroid patients, those with kidney disease, and those with autoimmune or inflammatory diseases for whom fluoridation is medically contraindicated or ill-advised; (iv) consider the costs of avoidance of fluoridated water by those who simply prefer not to ingest the substance.

The task force shall file a report containing its findings and recommendations, including legislation necessary to carry out its recommendations, with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, and the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means not later than July 1, 2019.