Committee adopts amendments and reports HB123 favorably after sunset review of Board of Pharmacy

The Senate committee adopted amendments to House Bill 123, a sunset bill that restructures certain Board of Pharmacy authorities, and then held a public hearing with both proponents and opponents before giving the bill a favorable report as amended.

Representative Underwood, the House sponsor, said the measure resulted from a sunset review and would “clean[ ] up” statutory language governing the board, including clarifying fees, civil penalties, deferral agreements, and publication of fees. He said the bill removes deferral agreements that allowed non‑public settlement amounts and clarifies that fees charged to nonlicensed entities are prohibited. The sponsor said the bill makes consistent use of fee and penalty terms and requires publication of fees on the board’s website.

Senator Kelly explained the committee amendment, saying it makes two changes: it allows each pharmacy school to submit names for board appointment consideration and sets penalties and fines within a statutory range. Representative Underwood and other senators said the board membership would expand from five to nine members and that appointing authorities would include the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house, the senate pro tem and university recommendations.

Public testimony included opposition and requests for adjustments. Trent Macklemore (identified as representing independent pharmacies in Madison County) asked that the Alabama Pharmacy Association (APA) be allowed to submit one or two recommendations to create parity on the board. Joseph Kreps and John Linna urged limits on APA control, raised concern about revenue‑based fines and fees, and cited the auditor’s report that documented issues the sunset review had flagged. Johnny Brooklier (speaking as an individual pharmacist and board member) recommended more time for the board to implement audit fixes and urged additional cleanup before final enactment.

Committee members probed the reasons for statutory changes, asking about deferral agreements, pre‑licensure fee practices, and the composition and rotation of congressional‑district appointments. Representative Underwood said the audit identified multiple issues, including deferral agreements where settlement amounts exceeded statutory limits, the use of prelicensure fees for out‑of‑state entities, and opaque fee collection and spending. He said the changes aim to improve oversight and widen appointing authorities to reduce concentrated influence.

Senators also discussed adding a technician seat and the need for the reconstituted board to work with stakeholders on outstanding concerns. After the hearing Senators Coleman Madison and Kelly moved and seconded a motion for a favorable report; the committee recorded a favorable report on the bill as amended.

Why it matters: HB123 seeks to respond to an auditor’s sunset review by restructuring the Board of Pharmacy’s membership and clarifying statutory limits on fees, penalties and certain enforcement practices. Testimony at the hearing reflected a mix of support and concerns from independent pharmacists, long‑term care pharmacy representatives and industry groups about appointments, congressional‑district rotation and revenue‑based fines.

Next steps: The bill, as amended, was reported favorably by the committee and will proceed in the legislative process; sponsors said the measure and the reconstituted board will be reviewed again at next year’s sunset cycle.

Speakers quoted or recorded on the bill are identified in the committee transcript.