Senate Bill 231, as presented Wednesday, would encourage — but not require — pharmacies in Nevada to install secure drug take‑back bins for home‑generated pharmaceuticals and would create operational and recordkeeping standards for those voluntary bins. The sponsor proposed a $500,000 grant from the state's opioid settlement fund to the State Board of Pharmacy to support program setup.

Sen. Jeff Stone said the measure would expand convenient options to dispose of unused or expired medications to reduce diversion and protect landfills and water supplies. He described existing take‑back bin counts in Nevada and compared them to Sacramento, California, to argue Nevada is underserved. The measure would require that take‑back bins be monitored during posted hours, that conspicuous signage list prohibited items (for example, syringes and schedule I substances), that collectors keep inspection records and that collectors notify law enforcement of suspected tampering within one business day. The bill is explicitly voluntary for pharmacies.

During the hearing, stakeholders offered a friendly amendment that would also authorize community pharmacists to serve as laboratory directors for CLIA‑waived testing and to continue point‑of‑care testing after a federal PREP waiver expires — an item proponents said was already common practice during and after the COVID pandemic and is operational in many other states. Pharmacy and health‑system pharmacist witnesses said the change is needed so pharmacists can continue to perform simple CLIA‑waived tests (e.g., rapid influenza, COVID and strep tests) and, in some cases, order lab work and connect patients to care. Supporters said the amendment does not expand pharmacist prescribing authority and that pharmacists would be regulated by the board of pharmacy.

Opponents and neutral testifiers raised concerns about the amendment’s scope: the Nevada State Medical Association and the Nevada Psychiatric Association said the amendment was provided late and asked for more study, noting the CLIA waived list contains many different tests and some require specimen types beyond a simple nasal or oral swab. They also flagged questions about training, liability and patient protection procedures. The bill’s sponsor said he would work with interested parties on the amendment language.

Other testimony in support of the take‑back provisions came from the Nevada Board of Pharmacy, Stericycle (medical-waste disposal) and pharmacists across the state. Testimony from a disability‑rights representative requested consistent placement of bins inside pharmacies for accessibility.

The committee closed the hearing on SB 231 after discussion; an amendment and the implications for point‑of‑care testing were the primary subjects of dispute during testimony.