BILL NUMBER: SB 175	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  250
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 2, 2003
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 1, 2003
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 19, 2003
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  JULY 24, 2003
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 16, 2003

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Kuehl
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Hancock, Koretz, Lieber, and Pavley)

   (Coauthor:  Senator Soto)

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2003

   An act to amend Sections 4022, 4067, 4170, 4171, and 4175 of the
Business and Professions, relating to veterinary drugs.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 175, Kuehl.  Veterinary drugs:  prescriptions by veterinarians.

   (1) Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, defines a dangerous drug but
excludes properly labeled veterinary drugs from the definition.
   This bill would modify this definition to delete the exception for
veterinary drugs.
   (2) Existing law authorizes specified licensed individuals to
prescribe dangerous drugs and authorizes each licensing entity to
enforce the provisions of the Pharmacy Law regarding the prescription
of dangerous drugs.
   This bill would authorize a licensed veterinarian to prescribe a
dangerous drug and would authorize the Veterinary Medical Board to
enforce the provisions of the Pharmacy Law regarding the prescription
of dangerous drugs.
   (3) Existing law requires the California State Board of Pharmacy
to notify the appropriate licensing entity if the board receives a
complaint relating to dangerous drugs dispensed by a prescriber.
   This bill would require the board to notify the Veterinary Medical
Board if it receives a complaint relating to dangerous drugs
dispensed by a veterinarian.
   (4) Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly violate the
Pharmacy Law.
   Because violations of this bill would be a misdemeanor, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state.  Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 4022 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4022.  "Dangerous drug" or "dangerous device" means any drug or
device unsafe for self-use in humans or animals, and includes the
following:
   (a) Any drug that bears the legend:  "Caution:  federal law
prohibits dispensing without prescription," "Rx only," or words of
similar import.
   (b) Any device that bears the statement:  "Caution:  federal law
restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a ____," "Rx
only," or words of similar import, the blank to be filled in with the
designation of the practitioner licensed to use or order use of the
device.
   (c) Any other drug or device that by federal or state law can be
lawfully dispensed only on prescription or furnished pursuant to
Section 4006.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4067 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4067.  (a) No person or entity shall dispense or furnish, or cause
to be dispensed or furnished, dangerous drugs or dangerous devices,
as defined in Section 4022, on the Internet for delivery to any
person in this state without a prescription issued pursuant to a good
faith prior examination of a human or animal for whom the
prescription is meant if the person or entity either knew or
reasonably should have known that the prescription was not issued
pursuant to a good faith prior examination of a human or animal, or
if the person or entity did not act in accordance with Section 1761
of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a violation of
this section may subject the person or entity that has committed the
violation to either a fine of up to twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) per occurrence pursuant to a citation issued by the board
or a civil penalty of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per
occurrence.
   (c) The Attorney General may bring an action to enforce this
section and to collect the fines or civil penalties authorized by
subdivision (b).
   (d) For notifications made on and after January 1, 2002, the
Franchise Tax Board, upon notification by the Attorney General or the
board of a final judgment in an action brought under this section,
shall subtract the amount of the fine or awarded civil penalties from
any tax refunds or lottery winnings due to the person who is a
defendant in the action using the offset authority under Section
12419.5 of the Government Code, as delegated by the Controller, and
the processes as established by the Franchise Tax Board for this
purpose.  That amount shall be forwarded to the board for deposit in
the Pharmacy Board Contingent Fund.
   (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the
unlicensed practice of pharmacy, or to limit the authority of the
board to enforce any other provision of this chapter.
   (f) For the purposes of this section, "good faith prior
examination" includes the requirements for a physician and surgeon in
Section 2242 and the requirements for a veterinarian in Section
2032.1 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations.
  SEC. 3.  Section 4170 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4170.  (a) No prescriber shall dispense drugs or dangerous devices
to patients in his or her office or place of practice unless all of
the following conditions are met:
   (1) The dangerous drugs or dangerous devices are dispensed to the
prescriber's own patient, and the drugs or dangerous devices are not
furnished by a nurse or physician attendant.
   (2) The dangerous drugs or dangerous devices are necessary in the
treatment of the condition for which the prescriber is attending the
patient.
   (3) The prescriber does not keep a pharmacy, open shop, or
drugstore, advertised or otherwise, for the retailing of dangerous
drugs, dangerous devices, or poisons.
   (4) The prescriber fulfills all of the labeling requirements
imposed upon pharmacists by Section 4076, all of the recordkeeping
requirements of this chapter, and all of the packaging requirements
of good pharmaceutical practice, including the use of childproof
containers.
   (5) The prescriber does not use a dispensing device unless he or
she personally owns the device and the contents of the device, and
personally dispenses the dangerous drugs or dangerous devices to the
patient packaged, labeled, and recorded in accordance with paragraph
(4).
   (6) The prescriber, prior to dispensing, offers to give a written
prescription to the patient that the patient may elect to have filled
by the prescriber or by any pharmacy.
   (7) The prescriber provides the patient with written disclosure
that the patient has a choice between obtaining the prescription from
the dispensing prescriber or obtaining the prescription at a
pharmacy of the patient's choice.
   (8) A certified nurse-midwife who functions pursuant to a
standardized procedure or protocol described in Section 2746.51, a
nurse practitioner who functions pursuant to a standardized procedure
described in Section 2836.1, or protocol, or a physician assistant
who functions pursuant to Section 3502.1, may hand to a patient of
the supervising physician and surgeon a properly labeled prescription
drug prepackaged by a physician and surgeon, a manufacturer as
defined in this chapter, or a pharmacist.
   (b) The Medical Board of California, the State Board of Optometry,
the Dental Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of
California, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Veterinary Medical
Board, and the Physician Assistant Committee shall have authority
with the California State Board of Pharmacy to ensure compliance with
this section, and those boards are specifically charged with the
enforcement of this chapter with respect to their respective
licensees.
   (c) "Prescriber," as used in this section, means a person, who
holds a physician's and surgeon's certificate, a license to practice
optometry, a license to practice dentistry, a license to practice
veterinary medicine, or a certificate to practice podiatry, and who
is duly registered by the Medical Board of California, the State
Board of Optometry, the Dental Board of California, the Veterinary
Medical Board, or the Board of Osteopathic Examiners of this state.

  SEC. 4.  Section 4171 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4171.  (a) Section 4170 shall not prohibit the furnishing of a
limited quantity of samples by a prescriber, if the prescriber
dispenses the samples to the patient in the package provided by the
manufacturer, no charge is made to the patient therefor, and an
appropriate record is entered in the patient's chart.
   (b) Section 4170 shall not apply to clinics, as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 1204 or subdivision (b) or (c) of Section
1206 of the Health and Safety Code, to programs licensed pursuant to
Sections 11876, 11877, and 11877.5 of the Health and Safety Code, or
to a prescriber dispensing parenteral chemotherapeutic agents,
biologicals, or delivery systems used in the treatment of cancer.
  SEC. 5.  Section 4175 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4175.  (a) The California State Board of Pharmacy shall promptly
forward to the appropriate licensing entity, including the Medical
Board of California, the Veterinary Medical Board, the Dental Board
of California, the State Board of Optometry, the Osteopathic Medical
Board of California, the Board of Registered Nursing, or the
Physician Assistant Committee, all complaints received related to
dangerous drugs or dangerous devices dispensed by a prescriber,
certified nurse-midwife, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant
pursuant to Section 4170.
   (b) All complaints involving serious bodily injury due to
dangerous drugs or dangerous devices dispensed by prescribers,
certified nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners, or physician
assistants pursuant to Section 4170 shall be handled by the Medical
Board of California, the Dental Board of California, the State Board
of Optometry, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Board
of Registered Nursing, the Veterinary Medical Board, or the Physician
Assistant Committee as a case of greatest potential harm to a
patient.
  SEC. 6.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.