PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 664 | PRINTER'S NO. 1222 |
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. | 602 | Session of 2013 |
INTRODUCED BY QUINN, MICOZZIE, SCHLOSSBERG, HICKERNELL, BAKER, STEPHENS, M. K. KELLER, D. COSTA, MILLARD, MAJOR, KORTZ, C. HARRIS, STURLA, MILLER, PICKETT, COHEN, READSHAW, SWANGER, PETRI, V. BROWN, GROVE, WATSON, FARRY, MURT, MOUL, GIBBONS, CORBIN AND ENGLISH, FEBRUARY 8, 2013
AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MARCH 19, 2013
AN ACT
1Amending the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), entitled
2"An act relating to the manufacture, sale and possession of
3controlled substances, other drugs, devices and cosmetics;
4conferring powers on the courts and the secretary and
5Department of Health, and a newly created Pennsylvania Drug,
6Device and Cosmetic Board; establishing schedules of
7controlled substances; providing penalties; requiring
8registration of persons engaged in the drug trade and for the
9revocation or suspension of certain licenses and
10registrations; and repealing an act," further providing for
11definitions and for prohibited acts and penalties; and
12providing for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine and electronic
13tracking.
14The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
15hereby enacts as follows:
16Section 1. Section 2(b) of the act of April 14, 1972
17(P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug,
18Device and Cosmetic Act, is amended by adding definitions to
19read:
20Section 2. Definitions.--* * *
21(b) As used in this act:
1* * *
2"Real-time stop sale system" means a system intended to be
3used by law enforcement agencies and pharmacies or other
4business establishments that:
5(1) is installed, operated and maintained free of any one-
6time or recurring charge to the business establishment or to the
7Commonwealth;
8(2) is able to communicate in real time with similar systems
9operated in other states and similar systems containing
10information submitted by more than one state;
11(3) complies with the security policy of the Criminal
12Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau of
13Investigation;
14(4) complies with information exchange standards adopted by
15the National Information Exchange Model;
16(5) uses a mechanism to prevent the completion of a sale of
17a product containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or
18norpseudoephedrine that would violate Federal or State law
19regarding the purchase of a product containing those substances;
20and
21(6) is equipped with an override of the mechanism that:
22(i) may be activated by an employe of a business
23establishment; and
24(ii) creates a record of each activation of the override.
25* * *
26Section 2. Section 13(a)(40) and (c) of the act, amended or
27added November 23, 2010 (P.L.1081, No.107), are amended to read:
28Section 13. Prohibited Acts; Penalties.--(a) The following
29acts and the causing thereof within the Commonwealth are hereby
30prohibited:
1* * *
2(40) [The sale at retail of any product containing
3ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, or any of their
4salts, optical isomers or salts of optical isomers as the sole
5active ingredient unless one of the following applies:
6(i) The product is offered for sale behind a counter where
7the public is not permitted.
8(ii) The product is offered for sale within a locked cabinet
9that is located in an area of the facility involved to which
10customers do have direct access.] (Reserved).
11* * *
12(c) Any person who violates the provisions of clauses (21),
13(22), (24)[, (39) and (40)] and (39) of subsection (a) shall be
14guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof, be
15punished only as follows:
16(1) Upon conviction of the first such offense, he shall be
17sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding six months, or to pay a
18fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.
19(2) Upon conviction of the second and subsequent offense, he
20shall be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or
21to pay a fine not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars
22($25,000), or both.
23* * *
24Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
25Section 13.6. Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine; Electronic
26Tracking.--(a) Retailers shall be prohibited from making sales
27to an individual of, and an individual shall be prohibited from
28purchasing, ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base, or their salts,
29isomers or salts of isomers in excess of the following amounts:
30(1) 3.6 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base contained
1in a product or combination of products per day.
2(2) 9 grams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base contained
3in a product or combination of products per thirty-day period.
4(b) Nonprescription products containing ephedrine or
5pseudoephedrine shall be maintained behind the counter or in a
6locked case where the customer does not have direct access.
7(c) A retailer shall require any person purchasing a
8nonprescription product that contains ephedrine or
9pseudoephedrine to present a valid government-issued photo
10identification, or other document considered acceptable under
11Federal law for this purpose, at the point of sale. The retailer
12shall record the following:
13(1) Name and address of the purchaser.
14(2) Name and quantity of product purchased.
15(3) Date and time of purchase.
16(4) Purchaser identification type and number, such as
17driver's license state and number, and require the purchaser's
18signature in a logbook.
19(d) <-Beginning January 1, 2014, a A retailer shall, before
20completing a sale under this section, electronically submit the
21required information to the real-time stop sale system
22administered by the department, provided that the system is
23available without a charge to retailers for access. Absent
24negligence, wantonness, recklessness or deliberate misconduct,
25any retailer using the electronic sales tracking system in
26accordance with this subsection shall not be civilly liable as a
27result of any act or omission in carrying out the duties
28required by this subsection and shall be immune from liability
29to any third party unless the retailer has violated any
30provision of this subsection in relation to a claim brought for
1such violation.
2(e) If a retailer selling a nonprescription product
3containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine experiences mechanical
4or electronic failure of the electronic sales tracking system
5and is unable to comply with the electronic sales tracking
6requirement, the retailer shall maintain a written log or an
7alternative electronic recordkeeping mechanism until such time
8as the retailer is able to comply with the electronic sales
9tracking requirement. A retailer that does not have Internet
10access to the electronic sales tracking system is compliant with
11the requirements of this section if the retailer maintains a
12written log or an alternative recordkeeping mechanism.
13(f) The vendor of the real-time stop sale system shall
14forward State transaction records in the real-time stop sale
15system to the department weekly and provide real-time access to
16the real-time stop sale system information through the system's
17online portal to law enforcement in this Commonwealth as
18authorized by the department.
19(g) The department shall work with the real-time stop sale
20system to ensure that the real-time stop sale system shall be
21capable of generating a stop sale alert, which shall be a
22notification that completion of the sale would result in the
23seller or purchaser violating the quantity limits set forth in
24this section. The seller shall not complete the sale if the
25electronic system generates a stop sale alert. The department
26shall work with the real-time stop sale system to ensure that
27the system contains an override function that may be used by a
28retailer of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine who has a reasonable
29fear of imminent bodily harm if it does not complete a sale.
30Each instance in which the override function is used shall be
1logged by the system.
2(h) A violation of any provision of this section is a
3misdemeanor, punishable by fine only.
4(i) This section does not apply to a person who obtains the
5product pursuant to a valid prescription.
6(j) This section shall supersede any other laws or
7regulations governing the sales of products containing ephedrine
8or pseudoephedrine.
9Section 4. This act shall take effect in 270 days.