Rep. Mark Hart, a Republican from Falmouth, will be putting the fluoride question before his colleagues in the General Assembly again in 2026 with a bill that would allow the governing bodies of water districts to decide whether to add fluoride to drinking water.
The move hasn't gained enough traction in the GOP-led legislature in previous sessions, but with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blaming fluoridation of water for a number of health problems and pressing for more scrutiny of the practice, the bill could gain new life when lawmakers reconvene in January.
We believe that it's going to create quite a bit of confusion.Vince Guenthner, Louisville Water Company spokesman
One new inclusion in the bill would shield those water districts from court challenges.
"The water districts will be immune from any type of civil litigation regardless of which direction they go, whether they keep fluoride in the water or take it out," Hart explained.
The bill also does not mandate any public hearing on the issue, but bill drafters said they are open to adding such a provision.
Although proponents characterize the bill as one solely meant to remove an "unfunded mandate" — not an anti-fluoride measure — both speakers invited to address the Interim Joint Committee on State Government Tuesday cast water fluoridation in a negative light.
Critics have pointed to concerns surrounding a government report linking high levels of fluoride with lower IQs in children. In 2024, dentist and American Dental Association spokesman Howard Pollick told NPR, "This is not conclusive evidence. They didn't indicate it was conclusive evidence, and so more studies need to be done."
For more, listen to this segment of WUKY's Dr. Greg Davis on Medicine dealing on fluoride
"It doesn't take fluoride out of the water," Rep. Greg Elkins said of the Kentucky proposal. "It just gives the control back to the entity who's putting it in there."
Yet a representative of one of those entities, the Louisville Water Company, cautioned against placing the onus on water districts.
Louisville Water's Vince Guenthner said the districts are "rule followers, not rule creators" — and they've relied on the Safe Water Drinking Act, the State Division of Water, and the Health Department for guidance.
"We're also being asked to make a decision from our board members who don't have that expertise, they don't have the background in health-related decisions," Guenthner warned. "We believe that it's going to create quite a bit of confusion amongst our customers, make it very difficult to manage those customer expectations."
Guenthner also noted that the distribution of water can be complex and changing fluoridation policies could affect providers and customers outside of designated districts.
The American Dental Association says decades of community water fluoridation at optimum levels has proven "safe and effective at reducing tooth decay and maximizing citizens' oral health."