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2018 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 131
BY SENATOR MILLS
PHARMACISTS. Provides relative to licensing requirements for pharmacists. (8/1/18)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 37:1202(A), (B)(4), and (C) and 1203(A) and to enact R.S.
3 37:1202(D), relative to licensing requirements for pharmacists; to provide for
4 qualifications to obtain a license; to provide for the expiration of examination scores;
5 to provide for a timeline to issue a license; to provide for qualifications for
6 reciprocity; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 37:1202(A), (B)(4), and (C) and 1203(A) are hereby amended and
9 reenacted and R.S. 37:1202(D) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 §1202. Qualifications for licensure by examination
11 A. Qualifications. To obtain a license to engage in the practice of pharmacy,
12 an applicant for licensure by examination shall:
13 (1) Be at least twenty-one years of age.
14 (2) Be of good moral character and temperate habits.
15 (3) Meet one of the following educational requirements:
16 (a) Have graduated and received a professional degree from an approved
17 college of pharmacy.
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1 (b) Have graduated from a foreign college of pharmacy, completed a
2 transcript verification program, taken and passed a college of pharmacy equivalency
3 examination program, and completed a process of communication ability testing as
4 defined by the board in order to assure that the applicant meets the standards
5 necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare.
6 (4) Supply proof, substantiated by proper affidavits, of Have completed a
7 minimum of one year of service and professional experience through an internship
8 or other program that has been approved by the board under the supervision of a
9 licensed pharmacist, which service shall be predominantly related to the provision
10 of pharmacy primary care and the dispensing of drugs and medical supplies, the
11 compounding of prescriptions, and the keeping of records and the making of reports
12 as required under state and federal law.
13 (5) Have submitted to the board an application, in the time frame and form
14 prescribed by the board by regulation. Have passed all examinations required by
15 the board.
16 (6) Have paid fees specified by the board for the examination, and issuance
17 of the license, certificate, or registration and any related materials.
18 (7) Have passed an examination or examinations required by the board.
19 Have submitted to the board a completed application form supplied by the
20 board.
21 (8) Have completed a criminal history record check as authorized by R.S.
22 37:1216.
23 B. Examinations.
24 * * *
25 (4) An applicant who takes and satisfactorily completes any board required
26 examinations shall become licensed within one year of the examination dates or the
27 results of the examinations shall become invalid. Examination scores shall expire
28 one year after the date of the examination. Expired scores shall not be valid for
29 licensure.
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1 * * *
2 C. Internship and other training programs.
3 (1) All applicants for licensure by examination shall obtain practical
4 professional experience in the practice of pharmacy concurrent with attending or
5 after graduation from an approved college of pharmacy, or both, under such terms
6 and conditions as determined by regulation.
7 (2) The board shall establish such licensure requirements for pharmacy
8 interns and standards for internship, or any other experiential program necessary to
9 qualify an applicant for the licensure examination, and shall also determine the
10 qualifications of preceptors pharmacists or other practitioners used in practical
11 professional experience programs as determined by regulation.
12 D. Upon successful completion of the requirements of Subsections A, B,
13 and C of this Section, the board shall issue a license to the pharmacist within
14 fourteen working days.
15 §1203. Qualifications for reciprocity
16 A. In order for a pharmacist currently licensed in another jurisdiction to
17 obtain a license as a pharmacist by reciprocity in this state, an applicant shall:
18 (1) Have attained the age of twenty-one years.
19 (2) Have good moral character and be of temperate habits.
20 (3) Have possessed at the time of initial licensure as a pharmacist all
21 qualifications necessary to have been eligible for licensure at that time in this state.
22 (4) Have engaged in the practice of pharmacy for a period of at least one year
23 or have met the internship requirements of this state within the one year period
24 immediately previous to the date of such application.
25 (5) Have submitted an application in the form prescribed by the board.
26 (6) Have presented to the board evidence of initial licensure by examination
27 and evidence that such license is in good standing active status.
28 (7)(5) Have presented to the board evidence of any disciplinary, criminal, or
29 other adverse action, including arrests taken against him by another licensing
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1 jurisdiction, government agency, law enforcement agency, or court. Such action may
2 serve as grounds for the denial of reciprocity to an applicant.
3 (6) Have passed all examinations required by the board.
4 (8)(7) Have paid the fees specified by the board to defray the expenses of
5 making an investigation of his character, general reputation, and licensure the status
6 in the state in which he has resided of his original and all subsequently acquired
7 pharmacist licenses.
8 (9)(8) Have passed all examinations required by the board. Have submitted
9 a completed application form supplied by the board.
10 * * *
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.
DIGEST
SB 131 Engrossed 2018 Regular Session Mills
Present law provides for qualifications for licensure of pharmacists. Proposed law updates
certain terminology regarding the education, professional experience, criminal background
check, and application forms required for licensure. Proposed law provides for issuance of
a license in 14 working days once the applicant successfully complies with the licensing
requirements.
Present law provides for qualifications for a pharmacist to obtain a license by reciprocity in
Louisiana. Proposed law updates certain terminology regarding the pharmacist's license in
another state being in active status, passing all exams required by the board, and
investigations of the applicant's original and subsequently acquired licenses in other states.
Effective August 1, 2018.
(Amends R.S. 37:1202(A), (B)(4), and (C) and 1203(A); adds R.S. 37:1202(D))
Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Health and Welfare to
the original bill
1. Restores the requirement that a licensed pharmacist and one seeking
licensure through reciprocity shall be of good moral character and temperate
habits.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.