The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services voted 6-1 to favorably report House Bill 25, a measure that would allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin without a prescription provided they follow rules set by the state board of pharmacy.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Hall, told the committee the medication has been widely used internationally and argued that expanding retail access would help “rural Texans and those who have trouble accessing swift access to a doctor.” He said ivermectin is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines and noted the discovery work recognized by the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The measure would allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin over the counter if they follow guidelines the state board of pharmacy adopts and would provide that pharmacists acting “in a reasonably prudent manner” cannot be held criminally or civilly liable for dispensing the drug under the bill, Senator Hall said. “Use of certain off‑label drugs has repeatedly been proven to be incredibly safe and effective,” he said.

A nurse who identified themself as Charlie testified in opposition during the public‑comment period, warning that ivermectin is not a cure‑all and citing potential harms. “Ivermectin is FDA approved for certain uses, but it is not safe or effective as a cure all for COVID, cancer, dementia, or the flu,” Charlie told the committee, adding that the drug can cause serious side effects and dangerous interactions with common medications.

Charlie also criticized pandemic‑era marketing and online sales that, he said, profited from vulnerable patients: “Online pharmacies mark up ivermectin by 2,400%,” he said, and some networks “extracted $1,515,000,000 from vulnerable patients in just three months.” He urged the committee not to rush legislation that could “legitimize unsafe and unsupervised consumption.”

After discussion the committee voted on a motion by Senator Hughes that “House Bill 25 do pass and be printed.” The clerk’s roll call recorded votes of Aye from Senators Bullquist, Perry, Hall, Hughes, Bonko and Sparks, and a Nay from Senator Cowen, producing a 6‑1 favorable report. The committee’s action sends the bill on for further consideration in the Senate.

The bill text delegates authority to the state board of pharmacy to adopt implementing rules; the sponsor said the board would lay out dispensing guidelines. The chair opened the meeting for public testimony, limited each speaker to two minutes, and said it was the chair’s intent to vote the evening of the hearing.

No fiscal or implementation timeline was discussed in detail during the committee meeting. Questions about how the state board of pharmacy would draft and time rules, and whether any additional statutory changes or safeguards would be required, were not resolved in the session.