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Committee moves bill to codify Board of Pharmacy rules into statute; pharmacists, board supporters testify
Summary
House Bill 200, part of a multiyear effort to move pharmacy board rules into statute, passed committee on a do-pass recommendation after supportive testimony from a public board member and pharmacists who said the change provides regulatory stability and affirms expanded pharmacist scope in Idaho.
Boise — The Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 200 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation after supporters described the measure as a continuation of a multiyear effort to move Board of Pharmacy rules into statute.
Representative Jordan Redmond, sponsor of HB 200, said the bill carries forward work begun in earlier sessions to migrate Board of Pharmacy rules into statute and that the change "provides stability for business owners and for quality of care for patients." He told the committee the bill "does not expand practice authority, does not shrink it. It does not impose new burdens and it will not change practice."
Ed Sperry, identified as a public member of the Board of Pharmacy who served 10 years, testified in support and said the board's role is "to protect the public" and that the change provides stability for businesses. Marcus Hurst, identified as pharmacy director for Rollins Pharmacy and a licensed pharmacist in Idaho, also testified in support and described Idaho as "leading the way for other states in recognizing pharmacists as the medical professionals that we are trained to be," citing independent prescribing, point-of-care testing, and other expanded practice elements in Idaho.
Sponsor Redmond noted a stakeholder inquiry about the word "independent" in one line of the bill but said the language reflects longstanding rule language that has been presented to the Legislature multiple times. After testimony, Senator Burkey moved and Senator Harris seconded a motion to send HB 200 to the floor with a do-pass recommendation; the committee approved the motion on a voice vote recorded in the transcript.
The recorded discussion emphasized continuity and stability for pharmacies and patients; witnesses repeatedly urged support for moving existing rules into statute and for recognizing pharmacists' clinical roles under current Idaho practice standards.
