1-1  By:  Van de Putte (Senate Sponsor - Madla)            H.B. No. 1504
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House April 21, 1995;
    1-3  April 24, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
    1-4  and Human Services; May 3, 1995, reported favorably by the
    1-5  following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 3, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-6                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-7                                AN ACT
    1-8  relating to the funding and operation of the program to aid certain
    1-9  impaired pharmacists and pharmacy students.
   1-10        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-11        SECTION 1.  Section 27A(g), Texas Pharmacy Act (Article
   1-12  4542a-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as
   1-13  follows:
   1-14        (g)  The board may add a surcharge of not more than $10 <$5>
   1-15  to a license or license renewal fee authorized under this Act to
   1-16  fund the program to aid impaired pharmacists or pharmacy students.
   1-17        SECTION 2.  Section 27A(j), Texas Pharmacy Act (Article
   1-18  4542a-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by Section 21,
   1-19  Chapter 351, and Section 9, Chapter 789, Acts of the 73rd
   1-20  Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, is amended to read as follows:
   1-21        (j)  The board may disclose that the license of a pharmacist
   1-22  who is the subject of an order of the board that is <deemed>
   1-23  confidential by <under> Subsection (d) of this section is
   1-24  suspended, revoked, canceled, restricted, or retired or that the
   1-25  pharmacist is in any manner otherwise limited in the practice of
   1-26  pharmacy<.  The>; however, the board may not disclose the nature of
   1-27  the impairment or other information that resulted in the board's
   1-28  <such> action.
   1-29        SECTION 3.   This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
   1-30  applies only to a license issued or renewed by the Texas State
   1-31  Board of Pharmacy on or after that date.  A license issued or
   1-32  renewed before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
   1-33  date the license was issued or renewed, and the former law is
   1-34  continued in effect for that purpose.
   1-35        SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-36  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-37  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-38  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-39  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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