REPORT OF CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

 

MR. SPEAKER AND MADAM PRESIDENT:

 

   We, the undersigned conferees, have had under consideration the amendments to the following entitled BILL:

 

H. B. No. 1093:  Board of Pharmacy; require Department of Public Safety to assist board with background checks.

 

  We, therefore, respectfully submit the following report and recommendation:

 

  1.  That the Senate recede from its Amendment No. 1.

 

  2.  That the House and Senate adopt the following amendment:

 

     Amend by striking all after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

 

     SECTION 1.  Section 73-21-85, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     73-21-85.  (1)  To obtain a license to engage in the practice of pharmacy by examination, or by score transfer, the applicant shall:

          (a)  Have submitted a written application on the form prescribed by the board;

          (b)  Be of good moral character;

          (c)  Have graduated from a school or college of pharmacy accredited by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education and have been granted a pharmacy degree therefrom;

          (d)  Have successfully passed an examination approved by the board;

          (e)  Have paid all fees specified by the board for examination, not to exceed the cost to the board of administering the examination;

          (f)  Have paid all fees specified by the board for licensure; and

          (g)  Have submitted evidence of externship and/or internship as specified by the board.

     (2)  To obtain a license to engage in the practice of pharmacy, a foreign pharmacy graduate applicant shall obtain the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee's certification, which shall include, but not be limited to, successfully passing the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination and attaining a total score of at least five hundred fifty (550) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and shall:

          (a)  Have submitted a written application on the form prescribed by the board;

          (b)  Be of good moral character;

          (c)  Have graduated and been granted a pharmacy degree from a college or school of pharmacy recognized and approved by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy's Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee;

          (d)  Have paid all fees specified by the board for examination, not to exceed the cost to the board of administering the examination;

          (e)  Have successfully passed an examination approved by the board;

          (f)  Have completed the number of internship hours as set forth by regulations of the board; and

          (g)  Have paid all fees specified by the board for licensure.

     (3)  Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64.

     (4)  To insure that all applicants are of good moral character, the board shall conduct a criminal history records check on all applicants for a license.  In order to determine the applicant's suitability for licensing, the applicant shall be fingerprinted.  The board shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety for a check of the state criminal records and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a check of the national criminal records.  The Department of Public Safety shall disseminate the results of the state check and the national check to the board for a suitability determination.  The board shall be authorized to collect from the applicant the amount of the fee that the Department of Public Safety charges the board for the fingerprinting, whether manual or electronic, and the state and national criminal history records checks.

     SECTION 2.  Section 73-21-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     73-21-111.  (1)  The board shall make, adopt, amend and repeal from time to time such rules and regulations for the regulation of supportive personnel as may be deemed necessary by the board.

     (2)  Every person who acts or serves as a pharmacy technician in a pharmacy that is located in this state and permitted by the board shall obtain a registration from the board.  To obtain a pharmacy technician registration the applicant must:

          (a)  Have submitted a written application on a form(s) prescribed by the board; and

          (b)  Be of good moral character; and

          (c)  Have paid the initial registration fee not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).

     (3)  Each pharmacy technician shall renew his or her registration annually.  To renew his or her registration, a technician must:

          (a)  Submit an application on a form prescribed by the board; and

          (b)  Pay a renewal fee not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each annual registration period.  The board may add a surcharge of not more than Five Dollars ($5.00) to the registration renewal fee to assist in funding a program that assists impaired pharmacists, pharmacy students and pharmacy technicians.

     (4)  To insure that all applicants are of good moral character, the board shall conduct a criminal history records check on all applicants for a license.  In order to determine the applicant's suitability for licensing, the applicant shall be fingerprinted.  The board shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety for a check of the state criminal records and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a check of the national criminal records.  The Department of Public Safety shall disseminate the results of the state check and the national check to the board for a suitability determination.  The board shall be authorized to collect from the applicant the amount of the fee that the Department of Public Safety charges the board for the fingerprinting, whether manual or electronic, and the state and national criminal history records checks.

     SECTION 3.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.


     Further, amend by striking the title in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

 

     AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 73-21-85 AND 73-21-111, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THAT THE STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY CONDUCT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS ON ANY APPLICANT FOR PHARMACY LICENSURE AND ANY APPLICANT FOR PHARMACY TECHNICIAN REGISTRATION; TO PROVIDE THAT THOSE APPLICANTS SHALL BE FINGERPRINTED AND THE BOARD SHALL SUBMIT THE FINGERPRINTS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY FOR A CHECK OF THE STATE CRIMINAL RECORDS AND FORWARDED TO THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FOR A CHECK OF THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL
RECORDS; TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO COLLECT A FEE FROM THE APPLICANT FOR THE FINGERPRINTING AND THE STATE AND NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS CHECKS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.


 

CONFEREES FOR THE HOUSE           CONFEREES FOR THE SENATE

 

 

X (SIGNED)

X (SIGNED)

D. Stephen Holland

Alan Nunnelee

 

 

X (SIGNED)

X (SIGNED)

Bobby B. Howell

Nolan Mettetal

 

 

X (SIGNED)

X (SIGNED)

John Read

Joseph C. Thomas