HBA-CMT C.S.H.B. 99 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 99 By: Maxey Public Health 4/11/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The United States Congress and state legislatures have enacted safeguards to protect citizens from harm resulting from the use of unsafe drugs, counterfeit drugs, and the improper practice of pharmacy. These safeguards, however, have not been extended in Texas to protect citizens from the improper sale of drugs by online practitioners and pharmacies. C.S.H.B. 99 extends these safeguards by requiring the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (board) to adopt rules regarding the sale and delivery of prescription drugs by use of electronic media including the Internet, and authorizing complaints to be made to the board through the Internet. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy in SECTION 1 (Sections 554.055 and 555.002 Occupations Code) and SECTION 4 of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 99 amends the Occupations Code to require the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (board) to adopt rules no later than February 28, 2002 regarding the sale and delivery of drugs by use of electronic media, including the Internet. The bill authorizes a complaint directed to the board to be made through the Internet. The bill requires a pharmacy that maintains a generally accessible Internet site and sells or distributes drugs through the Internet to link its site to the Internet site maintained by the board, and sets forth that the site must be on the pharmacy's initial home page and, if the pharmacy sells drugs through its site, on the page where the sale occurs. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. Provisions pertaining to the linking of Internet sites take effect November 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 99 modifies the original by adding provisions authorizing a complaint directed to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (board) to be made through the Internet. The substitute adds provisions relating to the linking of pharmacy Internet sites to the Internet site maintained by the board. The substitute changes the date by which rules are required to be adopted by the board from January 31, 2002 to February 28, 2002.