State Board of Pharmacy authorizes hearing to clarify pharmacist-in-charge regulation

The California State Board of Pharmacy on Nov. 5 voted to authorize its executive officer to set a public hearing on a petition that asks the board to amend or clarify the pharmacist-in-charge requirement in Title 16, Section 1709.1 of the California Code of Regulations.

The board acted after staff told members the petition, received Oct. 7, 2025, invoked Government Code section 11340.6 (the petition-to-rulemaking statute) but did not include draft regulatory language for the board to consider. "As a petition did not include proposed language for the board to consider, I agree with the recommendation offered by staff to schedule this matter for hearing," President Sung Oh said during the open session.

Member Satinder Sandu moved to "authorize the executive officer to set the matter for hearing." Member Ricardo Sanchez seconded the motion. Jennifer Robbins, the board's regulation counsel, was available to answer procedural questions during the discussion. The motion passed on a roll-call vote; no members voted against the motion.

Under the Government Code provision cited by staff, an agency must either deny a petition in writing within 30 days or schedule it for a public hearing. The hearing will be conducted by staff, and comments and any recommended language received at that hearing would be provided to the board for consideration at a future meeting. The board asked staff to schedule the hearing in advance of the board's January meeting so the item can be considered at the Jan. 26'27, 2026 board meeting if appropriate.

The petition specifically referenced the opening sentence of CCR Title 16, Section 1709.1, which begins "The pharmacist in charge (PIC) of a pharmacy shall be employed at that location," and asked for clarification or amendment of that provision. Staff and the board emphasized that because the petition provided no draft language, the hearing will be an opportunity to collect proposed regulatory text and public comment.

The board moved to closed session after the vote and noted the public portion of the meeting was complete.