Pharmacies; require to maintain not more than a certain ratio of pharmacy technicians to licensed pharmacists.

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To: State Affairs
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Waldo

HOUSE BILL NO. 1675

AN ACT TO REQUIRE PHARMACIES TO MAINTAIN NOT MORE THAN A 1
CERTAIN PHARMACY TECHNICIAN-TO-PHARMACIST RATIO; TO AUTHORIZE THE 2
STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY TO ADOPT RULES AND REGULATIONS NECESSARY 3
TO ENFORCE COMPLIANCE WITH THE RATIO REQUIREMENTS; TO PROHIBIT THE 4
BOARD FROM ADOPTING A RATIO REQUIREMENT THAT IS MORE RESTRICTIVE 5
THAN THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ACT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 6
73-21-83 AND 73-21-111, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE 7
OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. (1) A licensed pharmacy located in Mississippi 10
that is open to the public shall maintain a pharmacy 11
technician-to-pharmacist ratio of not more than five (5) pharmacy 12
technicians for every one (1) licensed pharmacist on duty. 13
(2) A licensed pharmacy located in Mississippi that is not 14
open to the public shall maintain a pharmacy 15
technician-to-pharmacist ratio of not more than twelve (12) 16
pharmacy technicians for every one (1) licensed pharmacist on 17
duty. 18
(3) The board shall have the authority to adopt rules and 19
regulations necessary to enforce and ensure compliance with the 20
pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio requirements provided in 21
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this section. However, the board may not adopt rules or 22
regulations establishing a pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio 23
that is more restrictive than the ratio requirements provided in 24
this section. 25
(4) Supportive personnel who are not performing the 26
functions of a registered pharmacy technician shall not be counted 27
toward the pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio requirements 28
provided in this section. For purposes of this subsection (4), 29
"supportive personnel" means individuals who assist in 30
nondispensing and nonclinical tasks, including, but not limited 31
to, cashiering, inventory management or administrative support, 32
under the supervision of a pharmacist, and who do not perform 33
duties requiring pharmacy technician registration as defined by 34
board rule. 35
(5) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) of this section, 36
a licensed pharmacy may exceed the pharmacy 37
technician-to-pharmacist ratio if all pharmacy technicians in 38
excess of the applicable ratio are nationally certified by a 39
certification program recognized by the board. The 40
pharmacist-in-charge shall maintain documentation verifying the 41
certification status of each such pharmacy technician and shall 42
ensure compliance with all other applicable board rules and 43
regulations. 44
SECTION 2. Section 1 of this act shall be codified in 45
Chapter 21, Title 73, Mississippi Code of 1972. 46
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SECTION 3. Section 73-21-83, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 47
brought forward as follows: 48
73-21-83. (1) The board shall be responsible for the 49
control and regulation of the practice of pharmacy, to include the 50
regulation of pharmacists, pharmacy externs or interns and 51
pharmacist technicians, in this state, the regulation of the 52
manufacturing and distribution of drugs and devices as defined in 53
Section 73-21-73, the distribution of sample drugs or devices by 54
manufacturer's distributors as defined in Section 73-21-73 by 55
persons other than the original manufacturer or distributor in 56
this state and the regulation of pharmacy benefit managers as 57
defined in Section 73-21-153 and pharmacy services administrative 58
organizations as defined in Section 73-21-73. 59
(2) A license for the practice of pharmacy shall be obtained 60
by all persons prior to their engaging in the practice of 61
pharmacy. However, the provisions of this chapter shall not apply 62
to practitioners who are licensed under the laws of the State of 63
Mississippi and are authorized to dispense and administer 64
prescription drugs in the course of their professional practice. 65
(3) The initial licensure fee shall be set by the board but 66
shall not exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), except the initial 67
licensure fee for pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacy services 68
administrative organizations shall be set by the board but shall 69
not exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). 70
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(4) All students actively enrolled in a professional school 71
of pharmacy accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy 72
Education who are making satisfactory progress toward graduation 73
and who act as an extern or intern under the direct supervision of 74
a pharmacist in a location permitted by the Board of Pharmacy must 75
obtain a pharmacy student registration prior to engaging in such 76
activity. The student registration fee shall be set by the board 77
but shall not exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00). 78
(5) All persons licensed to practice pharmacy prior to July 79
1, 1991, by the State Board of Pharmacy under Section 73-21-89 80
shall continue to be licensed under the provisions of Section 81
73-21-91. 82
SECTION 4. Section 73-21-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 83
brought forward as follows: 84
73-21-111. (1) The board shall make, adopt, amend and 85
repeal, from time to time, such rules and regulations for the 86
regulation of supportive personnel as may be deemed necessary by 87
the board. 88
(2) Every person who acts or serves as a pharmacy technician 89
in a pharmacy that is located in this state and permitted by the 90
board shall obtain a registration from the board. To obtain a 91
pharmacy technician registration the applicant must: 92
(a) Have submitted a written application on a form(s) 93
prescribed by the board; and 94
(b) Be of good moral character; and 95
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(c) Have paid the initial registration fee not to 96
exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00). 97
(3) Each pharmacy technician shall renew his or her 98
registration annually. To renew his or her registration, a 99
technician must: 100
(a) Submit an application on a form prescribed by the 101
board; and 102
(b) Pay a renewal fee not to exceed One Hundred Dollars 103
($100.00) for each annual registration period. The board may add 104
a surcharge of not more than Five Dollars ($5.00) to the 105
registration renewal fee to assist in funding a program that 106
assists impaired pharmacists, pharmacy students and pharmacy 107
technicians. 108
(4) To ensure that all applicants are of good moral 109
character, the board shall conduct a criminal history records 110
check on all applicants for a license. In order to determine the 111
applicant's suitability for licensing, the applicant shall be 112
fingerprinted. The board shall submit the fingerprints to the 113
Department of Public Safety for a check of the state criminal 114
records and forward to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a 115
check of the national criminal records. The Department of Public 116
Safety shall disseminate the results of the state check and the 117
national check to the board for a suitability determination. The 118
board shall be authorized to collect from the applicant the amount 119
of the fee that the Department of Public Safety charges the board 120
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ST: Pharmacies; require to maintain not more
than a certain ratio of pharmacy technicians to
licensed pharmacists.
for the fingerprinting, whether manual or electronic, and the 121
state and national criminal history records checks. 122
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 123
and after July 1, 2026. 124