HB 414 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Dental Hygienist Amendments

HB 414 amends Utah's definition of "public health setting" to explicitly include hospitals. This change allows dental hygienists working in hospitals to practice without requiring general supervision from a dentist (meaning a dentist doesn't need to be physically present on-site). The bill directly affects dental hygienists employed in hospital settings by expanding their scope of practice within those facilities. It does not appropriate funds or change other licensing requirements, focusing solely on clarifying where hygienists can work independently. The amendment takes effect May 6, 2026.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 29, 2026 Signed Mar 18, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 18, 2026
MINOR
This bill amends the Utah Dental Hygiene Act to update definitions and clarify supervision requirements. The primary change is expanding the definition of a 'public health setting' to explicitly include hospitals, which allows dental hygienists to practice in hospitals without the general supervision of a dentist. The bill also reorganizes the text of the definitions section for clarity while retaining the core scope of dental hygiene and dentistry practices.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of where dental hygienists can practice independently by adding hospitals to the list of public health settings.
DEFINITION

The definition of 'public health setting' was updated to explicitly include hospitals, removing the previous ambiguity that required general supervision in those facilities.

The definitions section was restructured and renumbered to improve readability and organization, though the substantive content of most definitions remained consistent.

TECHNICAL

The enrolled copy includes standard legislative formatting, page breaks, and session headers not present in the initial draft.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 2, 2026 · House Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

260
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 29
Mar 2, 2026
D Democratic6
6 Yea
100% Yea
N Forward1
1 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican22
19 Yea 3
86% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
39
Key actions
11
Committee
8
Mar 18, 2026
Signed into law
Governor Signed
executive
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ comm rpt/ placed on Consent Calendar [Senate Business and Labor Committee]
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation [Senate Business and Labor Committee]
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Business and Labor Committee]
upper
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Business and Labor Committee]
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Feb 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ comm rpt/ placed on Consent Calendar [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]
lower
Feb 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]
lower
Feb 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Committee
House/ to standing committee [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors