Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 1137	House Author:  Darby et al.
Effective:  9-1-11	Senate Sponsor:  Estes

House Bill 1137 amends the Health and Safety Code to change the identification requirements for a person purchasing an over-the-counter product containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine and changes the amount of those substances that may be purchased within specified periods. Before completing an over-the-counter sale of a product containing those substances, a business establishment must transmit the required information in the record of sale to a real-time electronic logging system that meets specified criteria.  The bill sets out requirements relating to the use of such a system, including recordkeeping requirements in the event of system failure and requirements regarding real-time access to information in the system.  The bill provides for a temporary exemption from the requirement to use such a system. Specified privacy protections apply to the information in a system and a business establishment may disclose the information only to certain law enforcement entities. The bill limits a business establishment's use of such information, sets out provisions relating to civil liability for the release of the information, requires a business establishment to make each record available on request by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) or any local, state, or federal law enforcement agency, and provides for the maintenance and destruction of records in certain circumstances.  The Texas State Board of Pharmacy and DSHS are required to provide to system administrators the contact information of all business establishments engaging in over-the-counter sales of products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and norpseudoephedrine.