STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5584 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 18, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the practice of regis- tered pharmacy technician or certified pharmacy technician The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding two new sections 2 6803-a and 6803-b to read as follows: 3 § 6803-a. Practice of registered pharmacy technician and use of title 4 "registered pharmacy technician". Only a person registered or otherwise 5 authorized under this title shall practice as a registered pharmacy 6 technician or use the title "registered pharmacy technician". Practice 7 as a registered pharmacy technician shall include providing pharmacy and 8 client related services under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. 9 Registered pharmacy technicians shall be subject to the provisions of 10 subarticle three of article one hundred thirty of this title. Registra- 11 tion as a pharmacy technician shall be required if the technician has 12 access to prescription drugs and either directly assists licensed phar- 13 macists to dispense prescriptions or medication orders, or has the 14 authority to add to or modify prescription records. 15 § 6803-b. Practice of certified pharmacy technician and use of title 16 "certified pharmacy technician". Only a person certified or otherwise 17 authorized under this title shall practice as a certified pharmacy tech- 18 nician or use the title "certified pharmacy technician". Practice as a 19 certified pharmacy technician shall include providing pharmacy and 20 client related services under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. 21 Certified pharmacy technicians shall be subject to the provisions of 22 subarticle three of article one hundred thirty of this title. Certif- 23 ication as a pharmacy technician shall be required if the technician has 24 access to prescription drugs, and either directly assists licensed phar- 25 macists to dispense prescriptions or medication orders or has the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10768-05-7

S. 5584 2 1 authority to add to or modify prescription records, and (i) is employed 2 by a pharmacy in a facility licensed in accordance with the provisions 3 of article twenty-eight of the public health law: or (ii) is employed in 4 a facility that is engaged in the compounding or preparation of drugs on 5 behalf of facilities licensed in accordance with the provisions of arti- 6 cle twenty-eight of the public health law, including, but not limited 7 to, facilities authorized pursuant to section sixty-eight hundred thir- 8 ty-one of this article; or (iii) is assisting in the compounding of 9 medications under the supervision of a pharmacist in any setting. 10 § 2. The education law is amended by adding two new sections 6805-a 11 and 6805-b to read as follows: 12 § 6805-a. Requirements for registration as a pharmacy technician. To 13 qualify for registration as a pharmacy technician, an applicant shall 14 fulfill the following requirements: 15 (a) Application: file an application with the department. 16 (b) Education: have received a minimum of a high school or a general 17 equivalency diploma, or be currently enrolled in a course of study lead- 18 ing toward a high school or general equivalency diploma, except as 19 otherwise provided by section sixty-eight hundred nine of this article. 20 (c) Age: be at least seventeen years of age. 21 (d) Character: submit an attestation of good moral character that is 22 satisfactory to the department which shall include a statement, under 23 penalty of perjury, as to whether the applicant has been convicted of 24 any offense defined in article one hundred seventy-eight or two hundred 25 twenty of the penal law. 26 (e) Fees: pay a fee for an initial registration and for each triennial 27 registration period thereafter. The triennial registration fee shall be 28 one-half of the fee for initial registration. 29 § 6805-b. Requirements for certification as a pharmacy technician. To 30 qualify for certification as a pharmacy technician, an applicant shall 31 fulfill the following requirements: 32 (a) Application: file an application with the department. 33 (b) Education: have received a minimum of a high school or a general 34 equivalency diploma. 35 (c) Examination: pass an examination offered by a national certifying 36 body that is satisfactory to the department, except as otherwise 37 provided by section sixty-eight hundred nine of this article. 38 (d) Age: be at least eighteen years of age. 39 (e) Character: submit an attestation of good moral character that is 40 satisfactory to the department which shall include a statement, under 41 penalty of perjury, as to whether the applicant has been convicted of 42 any offense defined in article one hundred seventy-eight or two hundred 43 twenty of the penal law. 44 (f) Fee: Pay a fee for an initial certification and for each triennial 45 certification period thereafter. The triennial registration fee shall be 46 one-half of the fee for initial certification. 47 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6806-a to 48 read as follows: 49 § 6806-a. Limited permit; certified pharmacy technician. 1. The 50 department may issue a limited permit for employment as a certified 51 pharmacy technician to an individual who has passed an examination 52 offered by a national certifying body acceptable to the department and 53 whose application for initial certification is pending with the depart- 54 ment.

S. 5584 3 1 2. A limited permit shall have an expiration date of six months from 2 the date of issue. Limited permits may be renewed once, for a period not 3 to exceed two years, at the discretion of the department. 4 3. Nothing in subdivision one of this section shall be construed as 5 requiring students enrolled in a full-time accredited program of study 6 in pharmacy leading to a doctor of pharmacy degree to be certified or 7 registered as pharmacy technicians. 8 § 4. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6809 to read 9 as follows: 10 § 6809. Special Conditions. 1. Exemptions for registered pharmacy 11 technicians. A person employed in a pharmacy who directly assists 12 licensed pharmacists to dispense prescriptions on the effective date of 13 this section, shall be exempt from the education requirements in section 14 sixty-eight hundred five-a of this article if he or she: 15 (a) submits evidence of a minimum of five years of employment in good 16 standing in a pharmacy, including eighteen consecutive months with a 17 single employer, and such evidence is verified by the employer; and 18 (b) shows there is good cause to waive the educational requirements 19 and such demonstration of good cause is satisfactory to the department, 20 in consultation with the board of pharmacy. 21 2. Exemptions for certified pharmacy technicians. A person employed in 22 a pharmacy who directly assists licensed pharmacists to dispense 23 prescriptions in a facility licensed in accordance with article twenty- 24 eight of the public health law on the effective date of this section, 25 shall be exempt from the education and examination requirements in 26 section sixty-eight hundred five-b of this article if he or she submits 27 evidence, verified by his or her employer, of a minimum of five years of 28 employment in good standing in a pharmacy within the previous eight 29 years, including eighteen consecutive months with a single employer, 30 provided, however, that such pharmacy technician shall not be permitted 31 to assist in the compounding of medications. 32 3. Any person who is certified as a pharmacy technician on the effec- 33 tive date of this section shall be deemed a certified pharmacy techni- 34 cian for the purposes of this article, provided that he or she files an 35 application with the department within six months of the effective date 36 of this section. 37 § 5. Following the implementation of the registration and certif- 38 ication requirements set forth in this act, the department of education 39 and the state board of pharmacy shall consider an adjustment in the 40 ratio of the registered and certified pharmacy technicians directly 41 assisting a licensed pharmacist to dispense prescriptions and shall 42 consider the delegated duties, tasks and functions that may be performed 43 by such registered and certified technicians as set forth in regulations 44 established by the commissioner of education. Registered and certified 45 pharmacy technicians shall be subject to the direct supervision of 46 licensed pharmacists and shall have no independent authority in accord- 47 ance with regulations established by the commissioner of education. 48 § 6. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 49 law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amend- 50 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 51 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to 52 be made and completed on or before such effective date; and provided 53 further that the state education department shall, effective immediate- 54 ly, be authorized to issue guidance and application forms to, and to 55 receive and consider applications from, persons seeking to be registered 56 or certified pursuant to this act.