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Board OKs authority for president to extend wildfire-related pharmacy waivers through June
Summary
The California State Board of Pharmacy voted to delegate authority to its president to extend and issue waivers of pharmacy law tied to the January wildfire emergency through June 30, 2025, or until the declared emergency ends, to preserve access to prescriptions and operations for impacted Californians.
The California State Board of Pharmacy on Feb. 6 delegated authority to the board president to extend and issue waivers of pharmacy law tied to the Jan. 7, 2025, state emergency declaration for the Palisades fire.
Board members said the delegation is intended to preserve patient access to medications and permit temporary operational flexibility while communities recover. The motion directs the board president to extend existing waivers and issue new waivers “through June 30, 2025, or until the end of the declared emergency, whichever is sooner.”
The waivers issued earlier this month include temporary changes to three areas of pharmacy law: increasing the number of pharmacy technicians a supervising pharmacist may oversee, permitting some pharmacy tasks to be performed from locations outside a licensed pharmacy, and allowing delivery of drugs to alternate locations. Board staff advised that the waivers had been issued in response to the governor's proclamation of emergency and that deployments and patient displacement were ongoing.
Board members who spoke during the discussion cited the scale and logistics of evacuations to justify broad latitude. Members representing long-term care and institutional pharmacies said evacuations often scatter residents across many counties and require cross-jurisdictional operational support. Others urged clarity in the waivers' geographic scope; staff said the waiver language is designed to address displaced Californians and the president's delegated authority would allow the board to clarify or limit language if needed.
The motion was made on the record by board member Nicole Tebow; a formal seconder was not recorded. The board recorded the following votes: Trevor Chandler, Renee Barker, Jeff Hughes, KKJ Newell, Jay (last name not specified in the transcript), Sathinder Sandhu, Maria Serpa, Nicole Tebow and President Seung Oh voted “yes.” No “no” votes or abstentions were recorded. The board's secretary noted the motion passed.
Why it matters: The waivers are intended to let pharmacies and their staff continue dispensing and delivering medications when regular workflows break down because of evacuations, staff displacement or damage to licensed premises. Board staff said the waivers are temporary and will be monitored.
What happens next: With the board's vote, the president may extend current waivers or issue additional waivers consistent with Business and Professions Code section 4062 and the emergency declaration. Staff said any future clarifications or narrower geographic limits could be issued by the president under the delegated authority.
Board members and several public commenters urged the board to keep communicating waiver details to licensees and to monitor for any inadvertent effects of broadly written waivers.
