Bylaws

lllinois Dental Policy Review Committee Bylaws

The Illinois Dental Policy Review Committee (DPRC) is created pursuant to Public Act 86-1475 to provide professional or technical consultation to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) about oral health and dental care services under the Medical Assistance Program. The DPRC shall consult with and advise HFS in respect to problems and policies involved in the provision of dental services to adults and children.

The DPRC will assist HFS by:

A.      Serving in an advisory role
B.      Participating in dental discussions related to
C.      Making dental recommendations on policy development and program administration
D.      Meeting quarterly for the purpose of providing dental service recommendations
E.       Complying with the provisions of the Open Meetings Act

The DPRC shall consist of up to fifteen (15) voting members that shall include:

A.      At least ten members shall be a dentist and up to two (2) may be dental hygienists. The 12 members will be comprised of dental experts from general and specialty private practices, FQHCs, local health departments, and dental academia.  
B     Three (3) organizations with standing appointments shall serve in ex officio status with voting rights. These appointments shall count towards a quorum:

a.    Fee for Service Dental Vendor – Dental Director for Illinois
b.    Illinois Department of Public Health – Oral Health Representative 
c.     Illinois State Dental Society – Government Oral Health Representative

C.      All appointments of members shall be made in writing and presented to HFS
D.      Members agree to comply with State of Illinois compliance training requirements

All members of the committee are appointed by HFS.  

In the event a member is unable to complete their three-year term due to illness, disability, relocation outside of Illinois, resignation, or another similar circumstance, the Chair will request nominations from the committee to be submitted to HFS. 

Members shall serve a three-year term, or until a successor is appointed by HFS without compensation and shall not be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.All members may be re-appointed by HFS providing the member is willing to serve an additional term. Members will be notified in writing of their status prior to the end of the term.

If a member misses three (3) consecutive regularly scheduled meetings, his/her membership may be terminated at the discretion of HFS.

The officers of the DPRC consist of a Chair and a Vice Chair and will be elected by a majority vote of Committee members for a three-year term.

The Chair shall have the authority to establish a meeting schedule, convene meetings of the Committee and preside over meetings in a manner consistent with Robert’s Rules of Order, unless otherwise directed by these Bylaws. 

In the event the elected Chair is unable to complete the three-year term due to illness, disability, relocation outside of Illinois, resignation, or another similar circumstance, the Vice Chair will automatically assume the Chair position for the remaining term.  At the next immediate meeting, nominations and a vote for a new Vice Chair will be conducted. 

The Chair shall have a term limit of two consecutive terms. In the event there are no available committee members to fill a chair vacancy, HFS can grant the current chair an additional term.

The Vice Chair shall have the authority to convene meetings in the absence of the Chair.

In the event the elected Vice Chair is unable to complete the three-year term due to illness, disability, relocation outside of Illinois, resignation, or another similar circumstance, nominations shall be sent to HFS for a replacement prior to the next Committee meeting. A vote will be conducted at the next immediate meeting. 

The Vice Chair shall  have a term limit of two consecutive terms. 

If both the elected Chair and the elected Vice Chair are unable to complete their respective three-year terms due to illness, disability, relocation outside of Illinois, resignation, or another similar circumstance, HFS or their designee shall serve in the vacant position until new officers are elected for a three-year term at the next meeting.

Should a member fail to answer the roll call for three consecutive meetings, the Chair may request permission to replace the member from HFS. 

If both the Chair and Vice Chair are unable to participate in a regularly scheduled meeting, HFS shall have the option to reschedule or cancel. 

The DPRC will hold regular quarterly meetings up to four times per year, or as often as the Chair and HFS deem necessary. Special meetings shall be called by the Chair, HFS or by written request from at least two members of the DPRC. Meetings will be held unless suspended by HFS and/or the DPRC Chair. HFS will post notices of the location, date and time of meetings and special meetings on the DPRC website. It shall be the responsibility of HFS to give notices of the location, date, and time of the regular meetings to each member of the DPRC at least thirty (30) days prior to each of the meeting dates.

An agenda shall be prepared and distributed to the members of the DPRC at least 48 hours prior to a scheduled meeting of the DPRC and no less than 24 hours prior to a special meeting. DPRC members must submit agenda items to be discussed and HFS will be responsible for the development and distribution of the agenda. The agenda must include review and approval, by simple majority, of previous minutes, and an opportunity for public comment. HFS will publish the agenda at least 48 hours prior to a regular meeting on the DPRC website. Under the new business portion of regular DPRC meeting, any member may bring up an item for discussion that is not on the agenda posted prior to the meeting; however, no action may be taken by the DPRC on such items until a future meeting has been properly noticed. No item may be discussed at a special meeting if such item is not on the published agenda.

Over 50% of voting members must be present at the initial roll call at the commencement of any regular or special meeting to constitute a quorum. Members attending in person or by video teleconference, shall be considered present for purposes of establishing a quorum. Attendance by proxy is not permitted. If a quorum is not present at the scheduled time of the meeting, the Chair may continue a roll call for a reasonable time. Thereafter, if a quorum is not reached, the meeting may continue, provided no official action is taken. If a quorum is subsequently reached, official action may be taken at the time.  

All meetings of the DPRC shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order to the extent not inconsistent with these Bylaws. Motions shall be made and seconded by members before called for a vote. A motion shall not be made and seconded by the same member. Except as otherwise specified herein, the Chair will have the right to call for a vote to adopt a motion, in all cases unless there is an objection by one member, in which case a roll call vote shall be taken. The minutes shall reflect the results of each vote. Unless otherwise required by statute, all other votes will be by simple majority. Voting by proxy is not permitted in any case.

At each meeting, the Chair will provide an opportunity for comment from members of the public. Public comment may be limited, at the Chair’s discretion, to three minutes for each individual, or five minutes for a representative spokesperson of a group. The Chair may act to prevent repetition or digression, to maintain decorum, to exclude discussion of matters which have had a previous public hearing, to exclude discussion of matters over which the DPRC has no input, and to exclude discussion of matters where public comment would interfere with due process of law. Guidelines for registration and public presentation as well as Conflict of Interest disclosures are found on the DPRC website. 

HFS will provide staff and operational support to the DPRC as may be reasonably required to accomplish its functions. HFS or designated staff will take minutes at all regular and special meetings of the DPRC.

All Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests will be directed to HFS.

In general, meeting materials that are not drafts and that do not contain business records or proprietary information will be available upon request from HFS.

The Bylaws may be amended at any meeting by a majority vote of the members present provided that the proposed amendment(s) have been provided to each member at least ten (10) days before said meeting. Bylaw amendments shall be effective on the date on which they are approved by the DPRC.