By Catherine Santos
On August 30, 2024, The Board published the rule’s Order of Adoption on its rulemaking action concerning section 1760 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR) related to disciplinary guidelines for pharmacists, and it was filed with the Secretary of State on September 4, 2024. According to the Board’s Final Statement of Reasons, the Executive Officer then used his authority, which was delegated during the April 24-25, 2024 Board meeting, to adopt the rulemaking’s public comment on May 17, 2024. The Final Statement of Reasons also claims that the regulation does not have an impact on small businesses, nor does it impose any mandates on local agencies or school districts.
According to the modified text, the Board proposed to delete the review date of its Disciplinary Guidelines, January 2022, and replace it with April 2024. The Board also published a modified version of the Disciplinary Guidelines. These modifications included additional reasons the Board would suspend a pharmacist’s license under the Pharmacists Recovery Program (PRP) and qualifications for probationers to pass drug and alcohol testing. On November 27, 2023, the Board published its initial statement of reasons, which states the proposed action includes requirements to disclose the respondent’s email address, use gender-inclusive language, updated terms for consistency throughout the Disciplinary Guidelines, and timeframes for when action must be taken [see 29:2 CRLR 25]
At its April 24-25, 2024, meeting, the California State Board of Pharmacy reviewed its rulemaking action. The Board gave notice of this proposed action on December 1, 2023, and held a 45-day public comment period for the proposal. The Board received no comments nor a request for a hearing. The Board heard staff amendment recommendations and edited the proposal based on these amendments. The Board voted to give the modified text a 15-day public comment period. After a 15-day notice and comment period, the Board received no comments.
The rulemaking will take effect on January 1, 2025.