FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Should water fluoridation be a requirement? Making it optional for communities to opt in is a legislative goal State Rep. Mark Hart (R-Falmouth) has pursued since 2018, and one lawmakers will likely consider again in the 2026 session.
“We want everybody to realize our emphasis is undoing the unfunded mandate and allowing people to have the freedom of choice when it comes to, in this case, dental treatment,” Hart said.
The House passed Hart’s bill this year, but it was not considered by the Senate. He and other supporters stressed the bill is not an anti-fluoride proposal but is instead about local control. The bill’s newest form adds a legal immunity clause over whatever choice the water board makes, and Hart told lawmakers at Tuesday’s meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on State Government he’d be open to adding a requirement for a public hearing. However, those opposed argue that, in addition to conflicting science, making that decision isn’t a water board’s role.
“To date, everything is part of the Safe Drinking Water Act through the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Division of Water. And in the case of fluoride, as you know, the health department. And so, in essence, we are rule followers, not rule makers,” Vince Guenthner, senior utilities consultant for the Louisville Water Company, told lawmakers.
“You have a board. All these water districts have boards. There are very intelligent people that sit on these boards. Sir, you with the Dental Association? It’s going to be your job at that point, as well as the gentleman in the back that presented earlier to educate these water boards to make those decisions,” Rep. Ryan Bivens (R-Hodgenville) commented, referring to dental experts Dr. Jack Kall of the International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology and Dr. Stephen Robertson of the Kentucky Dental Association that also spoke during the meeting and presented some conflicting arguments over the necessity of fluoride in water systems.
Hart and Winchester State Senator Greg Elkins plan to file companion bills in the 2026 session.
Original article online at: https://fox56news.com/news/kentucky/frankfort-likely-to-consider-making-fluoridated-water-optional-in-2026/