82R4032 GCB-F
By: Darby H.B. No. 1137
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the transmission of records regarding over-the-counter
sales of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and norpseudoephedrine and a
person's civil liability for certain acts arising from the sale of
those products.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 486.014, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 486.014. PREREQUISITES TO AND RESTRICTIONS ON SALE.
(a) Before completing an over-the-counter sale of a product
containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine, a
business establishment that engages in those sales shall:
(1) require the person making the purchase to:
(A) display a driver's license or other form of
government-issued identification containing the person's
photograph and indicating that the person is 16 years of age or
older; and
(B) sign for the purchase;
(2) make a record of the sale, including the name and
date of birth of the person making the purchase, the address of the
purchaser, the date and time of the purchase, the type of
identification displayed by the person and the identification
number, and the item and number of grams purchased; and
(3) transmit the record of sale as required by Section
486.0141.
(b) A business establishment may not sell to [take actions
necessary to prevent] a person who makes over-the-counter purchases
of one or more products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or
norpseudoephedrine:
(1) within any calendar day, [from obtaining from the
establishment in a single transaction] more than:
(A) two packages of those products; or
(B) 3.6 [six] grams of ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or a combination of those
substances; and
(2) within any 30-day period, more than nine grams of
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or a combination
of those substances.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 486, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Sections 486.0141, 486.0142, 486.0143,
and 486.0144 to read as follows:
Sec. 486.0141. TRANSMISSION OF SALES INFORMATION TO A
REAL-TIME ELECTRONIC LOGGING SYSTEM. (a) Before completing an
over-the-counter sale of a product containing ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine, a business establishment
that engages in those sales shall transmit the information in the
record made under Section 486.014(a)(2) to a real-time electronic
logging system used by pharmacies and law enforcement agencies and
personnel, such as the National Precursor Log Exchange, that is
administered by a nonprofit organization involved in the prevention
and investigation of prescription drug diversion, such as the
National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, if such a
system is available to the establishment at no cost.
(b) A business establishment may not complete an
over-the-counter sale of a product containing ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine if a real-time electronic
logging system described in Subsection (a) returns a report that
the completion of the sale would result in the person obtaining an
amount of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or a
combination of those substances greater than the amount described
by Section 486.014(b), regardless of whether all or some of the
products previously obtained by the buyer were sold at the
establishment or another business establishment.
(c) The administrators of the real-time electronic logging
system described in this section shall forward to the Department of
Public Safety a copy of each record of an over-the-counter sale of a
product containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or
norpseudoephedrine that is submitted by a business establishment
located in this state.
Sec. 486.0142. WRITTEN LOG. If a business establishment
that engages in over-the-counter sales of a product containing
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine experiences a
mechanical or electronic failure of the real-time electronic
logging system, the business shall maintain a written or electronic
record that satisfies the requirements of Section 486.014(a)(2) and
enter the information in the electronic logging system as soon as
practicable after the electronic logging system becomes
operational.
Sec. 486.0143. ONLINE PORTAL. The nonprofit organization
involved in the prevention and investigation of prescription drug
diversion described in Section 486.0141 that operates a real-time
electronic logging system used by pharmacies and law enforcement
agencies and personnel shall provide real-time access to the
information in the system to the Department of Public Safety if the
department executes a memorandum of understanding with the
nonprofit organization that operates the system.
Sec. 486.0144. LIMITATION ON CIVIL LIABILITY. A person is
not liable for an act or omission arising from the person's
compliance with the requirements of Section 486.014 or 486.0141.
SECTION 3. Not later than September 30, 2011, the Texas
State Board of Pharmacy and the Department of State Health Services
shall provide to the nonprofit organization described in Section
486.0141, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, the names,
addresses, and phone numbers of all pharmacy and retail
establishments selling over-the-counter products containing
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and norpseudoephedrine.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an over-the-counter sale of a product containing ephedrine,
pseudoephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine that is completed on or
after the effective date of this Act. An over-the-counter sale of a
product containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or
norpseudoephedrine that was completed before the effective date of
this Act is covered by the law in effect when the sale was
completed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), this
Act takes effect January 1, 2012.
(b) Section 3 of this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.