Senator Jerry Taylor

Meeting — March 18, 2011 (1:34:03)

What this does, they have various classifications as pharmacists. They can be a licensed pharmacist. They can also be a consultant, and what this bill does is it makes those dates, when they reapply for their pharmacy license to be renewed, it makes those dates consistent, and it doesn't mean that the pharmacist then has to reapply every year if they

Meeting — March 18, 2011 (1:33:54)

Senate Bill 902 really is for the pharmacists, and the Board of Pharmacy and the Pharmacy Association supports this.

Meeting — March 18, 2011 (1:32:28)

Once it has, during that 180 days, then the Health Department obviously would go through public health hearings and other things in order to get it, either to have it be a controlled substance permanently or to take it off the controlled substance list. I would appreciate a good vote. You've heard an explanation of the bill.

Meeting — March 18, 2011 (1:31:53)

It concerns the designation of controlled substances by the director of the Department of Health. What this does is it allows the scheduling of controlled substances. It allows the director to add, delete, or restructure a substance on an emergency order. Things like, if you remember, K2, spice, bath salts that we've been talking about. What this does is allows the Department of Health to provide an emergency order for no more than 180 days for that to be scheduled as a controlled substance.

Meeting — March 18, 2011 (1:31:43)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Senate Bill 386 is a Department of Health bill, and it is, it concerns, it's a serious subject.

Meeting — March 18, 2011 (1:23:18)

We have the people who are regulated by this and who pay those fees are the Arkansas Hospital Association, the Arkansas Medical Society, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, and Intergy, and they all support this bill.

Meeting — March 18, 2011 (1:22:38)

and they would be charging fees to the entities in the state of Arkansas. Currently, we have a fund balance in the program's account that is being depleted, and it will run out of funds July 2013. In order to continue this service, the NRC then, if we didn't have the funds to do it, would perform inspections, and their fees would apply. Their fees would increase by an average of 1,900%. This bill would allow the State Board of Health to set a rate not to exceed 25% of the fees that are charged by the NRC.

Meeting — March 18, 2011 (1:22:07)

Currently, the Department of Health regulates the safe use and security of radioactive materials in Arkansas. We are one of the 38 states that have an agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to regulate entities under a state licensing program. If we didn't have that agreement, then the NRC would conduct inspections and respond to inspections and investigations in the state of Arkansas,