S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7930--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 9, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Higher  Education  --
   committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
   recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend chapter 987 of the laws of 1971 amending  the  education
   law  and  the  civil practice law and rules relating to the regulation
   and practice of certain professions; and to continue the dental socie-
   ty of the state of New York, in relation to membership in the New York
   state dental association
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 5 of chapter 987 of the laws of 1971 amending the
 education law and the civil practice law and rules relating to the regu-
 lation and practice of certain professions; and to continue  the  dental
 society  of the state of New York, as amended by chapter 278 of the laws
 of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   § 5. The Dental Society of the State of  New  York  is  continued  and
 shall  be  renamed  the  New  York State Dental Association and shall be
 composed of the members of the district and county societies. The  state
 dental  association  shall annually meet on the second Wednesday of May,
 or at such other time and at such place as  may  be  determined  in  the
 bylaws  of  the  association  or  by resolution, at the preceding annual
 meeting. Twenty members shall be a quorum. A president, president-elect,
 vice-president, and secretary-treasurer shall be elected  annually,  and
 shall  hold  their office for one year, and until others shall be chosen
 in their places. The officers shall be elected by the directors  of  the
 association.  The  association may elect honorary members from any state
 or country not eligible to regular membership, who shall not be entitled
 to vote or hold any office in  the  association.  Such  association  may
 purchase and hold real estate and personal estate for the purpose of its
 incorporation.  The association shall have the power to make all needful
 bylaws not inconsistent with the laws of the state, for  the  management
 of  its affairs and property and the admission and expulsion of members,
 INCLUDING THE AUTHORITY TO ADOPT ANY BYLAWS ADMITTING  OR  AMENDING  ANY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15093-02-8

 S. 7930--A                          2
 
 MEMBERSHIP  STATUS  OF  ANY  PERSONS,  INCLUDING  LICENSED  DENTISTS AND
 PERSONS WITH DENTAL DEGREES THAT QUALIFY THEM FOR LICENSURE,  AND  ALLO-
 CATING SUCH MEMBERS AMONG DISTRICT AND COUNTY SOCIETIES PURSUANT TO SUCH
 BYLAWS  AS  DETERMINED BY THE ASSOCIATION. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION
 OF THIS SECTION,  DETERMINATION  REGARDING  WHETHER  AN  INDIVIDUAL  WHO
 APPLIES  FOR  LICENSURE  AS A DENTIST IN NEW YORK STATE MEETS THE EDUCA-
 TIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCH LICENSURE SHALL BE AT THE  SOLE  DISCRETION
 OF  THE  EDUCATION  DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Notwithstanding
 any other provision of law, the directors of the association may,  by  a
 three-fourths  vote,  suspend or remove any director of the association,
 or by a two-thirds vote remove a district or county society as a  compo-
 nent member. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the time period
 for  voting  by  the  members of the association on any amendment to the
 constitution or bylaws of the association shall run  from  the  date  of
 giving written notice in any mailing or other publication by the associ-
 ation  of any such amendment to the date of the commencement of the next
 regular meeting of the directors of the association.
   § 2. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 6 of chapter 987 of the  laws  of
 1971  amending  the  education  law and the civil practice law and rules
 relating to the regulation and practice of certain professions;  and  to
 continue  the  district  dental  societies  of the state of New York, as
 amended by chapter 288 of the laws of  2017,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  The existing district dental societies are continued. In any judi-
 cial district in which a district dental society  is  not  incorporated,
 fifteen or more dentists of such district authorized to practice dentis-
 try in this state may become a district dental society of such district,
 by publishing a call for a meeting of the dentists of the district to be
 held  at  a  time and place mentioned therein within the district, in at
 least one newspaper in each county of the district, at least once a week
 for at least four weeks immediately preceding the time when such meeting
 is to be held, and by meeting at the time and place  specified  in  such
 notice  with  such  dentists  authorized  to  practice  dentistry in the
 district as may respond to such call, and by making and filing with  the
 secretary  of the state dental association a certificate, to be executed
 and acknowledged by the dentists so meeting, or by at least  fifteen  of
 them,  which shall set forth that such meeting has been held pursuant to
 such notice, the corporate name of  the  society,  which  shall  be  the
 district  dental  society  of  the  judicial district where located, the
 names and places of residence of the officers of  the  society  for  the
 first year, or until the first annual meeting, which officers shall be a
 president,  vice-president,  secretary and treasurer, the time and place
 of the annual meeting  of  the  society  and  the  general  objects  and
 purposes  of  the  association.  Thereupon  the  persons  executing such
 certificate and all other dentists in good standing  and  authorized  to
 practice  dentistry  in  such  district, AND PERSONS WITH DENTAL DEGREES
 THAT QUALIFY THEM FOR LICENSURE, who  shall  subscribe  to  its  bylaws,
 shall  be a corporation by the name expressed in such certificate. Every
 licensed and registered dentist, AND PERSONS WITH  DENTAL  DEGREES  THAT
 QUALIFY  THEM  FOR  LICENSURE,  in the judicial district in which such a
 society is formed, shall be eligible to membership in the district soci-
 ety of the district in which he or she resides or  practices  dentistry,
 except  if  such  dentist  resides or practices dentistry in a county in
 which a county dental  society  is  formed  in  the  manner  hereinafter
 provided, he or she shall be eligible to membership in such county soci-
 ety;  provided,  however,  that after September 1, 1990 any licensed and

 S. 7930--A                          3
 
 registered dentist who is not a member of the state  dental  association
 shall  be eligible for membership only in the district or county society
 in which he or she maintains his or her primary practice. Any member  of
 a  district  or  county  dental  society  who  has been a member of such
 district or county dental  society  continuously  since  January  first,
 nineteen  hundred  seventy-seven,  may maintain his or her membership in
 that district or county dental society notwithstanding where such member
 resides or practices dentistry. The dental societies of  the  respective
 districts of the state shall have power to make all necessary bylaws not
 inconsistent  with  the  laws  of this state for the management of their
 affairs and property and the admission and expulsion of members; provid-
 ing that no bylaw of any district  society  shall  be  repugnant  to  or
 inconsistent with the bylaws of the state association. Twenty members or
 ten percent of the total membership entitled to vote, whichever is less,
 shall  be  a  quorum.  Such  societies  may  purchase  and hold real and
 personal property for the purposes of their incorporation.
   2. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or any other law  or
 rule  to the contrary, a county dental society may be formed if applica-
 tion by fifteen or more dentists  of  a  county    or  fifteen  or  more
 dentists  from  each of contiguous counties, or fifty percent or more of
 the dentists in a county or from each contiguous county with fewer  than
 thirty  dentists is approved by the governing body of the New York State
 Dental Association. Every licensed and registered dentist,  AND  PERSONS
 WITH  DENTAL  DEGREES  THAT  QUALIFY  THEM FOR LICENSURE, who resides or
 practices dentistry within the geographic area in which  such  a  county
 society  is  formed  shall  be  eligible  to membership in such society;
 provided, however, that after September 1, 1990, any licensed and regis-
 tered dentist who is not a member of the state dental association  shall
 be eligible for membership only in the county society in which he or she
 maintains his or her primary practice. Any member of a district or coun-
 ty  dental  society  who  has  been  a member of such district or county
 dental society continuously since January first, nineteen hundred seven-
 ty-seven, may maintain his or her membership in that district or  county
 dental  society  notwithstanding  where such member resides or practices
 dentistry. Such county dental societies  shall  have  the  same  powers,
 duties and quorum requirements as district dental societies.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.