BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1280
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1280 (Hill)
As Amended May 26, 2011
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Cedillo, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Hagman, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Hill, Mitchell, Skinner | |Campos, Davis, Donnelly, |
| | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Smyth, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Requires, effective July 1, 2012, retailers of
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to transmit specified purchase
information to the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) to
determine if the proposed sale violates purchasing restrictions.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Creates a misdemeanor for any retail distributor, except
pursuant to a valid prescription from a licensed practitioner
with prescriptive authority, to sell or distribute to a person
specified amounts of nonprescription products containing
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or
phenylpropanolamine within specified time limits, to sell or
distribute any of those substances to a person whose
information has generated an alert, or, except under specified
conditions, to sell or distribute to any purchaser a
nonprescription product containing any amount of those
substances.
2)Requires the secure storage and monitoring of products
containing any amount of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine,
norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine, as specified.
3)Requires retail distributors to transmit sale information to
the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) for purposes of
determining whether the sale would violate these provisions.
4)Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enter into a
memorandum of understanding with the National Association of
Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI) regarding the transaction
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records in NPLEx, as specified.
5)Provides that the information in the system may not be used
for any purpose other than to meet the requirements of, or
comply with, this act or a certain federal act, as specified.
6) Specifies legislative findings and intent.
7)States that this bill's provisions would remain in effect only
until January 1, 2018.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits with specified and detailed exceptions, disclosure
of medical information without the authorization of the
patient. Medical information shall be disclosed pursuant to a
court order or a warrant issued to a law enforcement agency.
2)Classifies controlled substances in five schedules according
to their dangerousness and potential for abuse.
3)Includes a detailed regulatory scheme for the production and
distribution of specified chemicals that may be precursors to
controlled substances.
4)Provides that producers and users of precursor chemicals must
obtain a permit from DOJ. Applications for permits must
include documentation of legitimate uses for regulated
chemicals.
5)Provides that "�s]elling, transferring, or otherwise
furnishing or obtaining any �restricted] substance specified
in subdivision (a) of �HSC] Section 11100 without a permit is
a misdemeanor or a felony."
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown nonreimbursable local law enforcement costs related to
investigating, prosecuting and punishing illegal
nonprescription pseudoephedrine (PSE) products sales.
2)Minor absorbable costs to DOJ to enter into a MOU with NADDI
for NPLEx access.
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3)Minor absorbable costs to the Board of Equalization to modify
retailers of NPLEx requirements.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1280 provides teeth to
existing federal law limiting the sales of pseudoephedrine (PSE)
products. Federal law in place since 2006 has imposed both
daily and monthly limits on quantities of products containing
PSE that can be purchased. Consumers must specifically ask for
the products (only available behind the counter), provide
identification and sign a log book prior to completing a sale.
Limits on PSE quantities were imposed as it is a primary
ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
"However, the paper logs maintained by each store or pharmacy
are independent. As such, there is no way for a retailer to
know if an individual has already met or exceeded the federal
limit. A criminal could easily go from one store to another and
hence accumulate large quantities of PSE.
"AB 1280 requires California retailers selling PSE products over
the counter to enter the purchase into an electronic log prior
to completing the sale. The networked, unified, electronic log
will immediately alert retailers if the customer has exceeded
the federal limits. If so, retailers would be required to stop
the sale.
"The electronic log in AB 1280 will be both consumer and
retailer friendly. The interaction for the consumer would be
the same as under current law. The retailer would simply enter
the information into an electronic log (i.e. a web-based
interface) as opposed to the existing paper log. Retailers will
know in real-time whether or not the purchase will exceed the
federal limits.
"The electronic log in AB 1280 would be both anti-criminal and
pro-consumer. Criminals will have a much harder time violating
federal law if each store he or she approaches knows immediately
whether or not the purchase is legal. Simultaneously, AB 1280
will protect access to effective medication for the millions of
California allergy sufferers."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
AB 1280
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Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0000805