1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to the retail sale of ephedrine and

3

related compounds; creating s. 893.1497, F.S.; providing

4

definitions; requiring each retail distributor to maintain

5

a written or electronic log or receipts of transactions

6

involving the sale of ephedrine and related compounds;

7

requiring a person who is purchasing ephedrine or related

8

compounds for personal use to produce current and valid

9

proof of identity and proof of age and to sign a written

10

log, an electronic log, or a receipt to document the  

11

transaction; requiring the Department of Law Enforcement

12

to provide each retail distributor access to a real-time

13

electronic logbook for the purpose of entering transaction

14

data, subject to available funding; authorizing the

15

department to contract with a private vendor to establish

16

the electronic logbook system; prohibiting the department

17

from charging fees to retail distributors; identifying the

18

persons and entities that have authority to access the

19

electronic logbook; requiring the department to destroy

20

the record of an ephedrine or related compound transaction

21

after a specified time; providing that a retail

22

distributor who in good faith releases information in a

23

logbook to a federal, state, or local law enforcement

24

authority is immune from civil liability; providing an

25

exception; providing that a person who knowingly releases

26

or discloses to any unauthorized person any confidential

27

information, who obtains confidential information for a

28

purpose not authorized by this section, or who uses or

29

shares confidential information for any purpose other than

30

to ensure compliance with the act commits a misdemeanor of

31

the first degree; providing criminal penalties; providing

32

an effective date.

33

34

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

35

36

     Section 1.  Section 893.1497, Florida Statutes, is created

37

to read:

38

     893.1497 Real-time electronic logbook; sales records;

39

purchaser's proof of identity and age.--

40

     (1) As used in this section, the term:

41

     (a) "Department" means the Department of Law Enforcement.

42

     (b) "Ephedrine", "pseudoephedrine," and

43

"phenylpropanolamine" mean any product containing ephedrine,

44

pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine or any of their salts,

45

isomers, or salts of isomers, alone or in a mixture.

46

     (b) "Proof of age" and "proof of identity" mean any

47

document issued by a governmental agency which contains a

48

description of the person or a photograph of the person, or both,

49

and gives the person's date of birth. Proof of age and proof of

50

identity include, but are not limited to, a passport, military

51

identification card, or driver's license.

52

     (c) "Retail distributor" means a pharmacy, grocery store,

53

general merchandise store, drugstore, convenience store, or other

54

related entity the activities of which, as a distributor of

55

ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine products, are

56

limited exclusively to the sale for personal use of ephedrine,

57

pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine products, both in number

58

of sales and volume of sales, directly to walk-in customers or in

59

face-to-face transactions by direct sales. A retail distributor

60

includes any person or entity that makes a direct sale or has

61

knowledge of the direct sale. A retail distributor does not

62

include:

63

     1. A manager, supervisor, or owner who is not present and

64

not otherwise aware of the direct sale; or

65

     2. The parent company of a pharmacy, grocery store, general

66

merchandise store, drugstore, convenience store, or other related

67

entity if the parent company is not involved in direct sales

68

regulated by this chapter.

69

     (d) "Sale for personal use" or "purchase for personal use"

70

means the sale in a single transaction to an individual customer

71

for a legitimate medical use of a product containing ephedrine,

72

pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine in a quantity at or below

73

that specified in s. 893.1495, and includes the sale of those

74

products to an employer to be dispensed to employees from a

75

first-aid kit or medicine chest.

76

     (2) A retail distributor must:

77

     (a) Maintain a written or electronic log or receipts of

78

transactions involving the sale of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or

79

phenylpropanolamine; and

80

     (b) Enter any transaction required to be maintained by this

81

section into the real-time electronic logbook maintained by the

82

department.

83

     (3) A person purchasing for personal use, receiving, or

84

otherwise acquiring ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or

85

phenylpropanolamine must:

86

     (a) Produce current and valid proof of identity and proof

87

of age; and

88

     (b) Sign a written log, an electronic log, or a receipt

89

that documents the date of the transaction, the name of the

90

person, a description of the proof of age and identity, and the

91

quantity of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylypropanolamine

92

purchased, received, or otherwise acquired.

93

     (4) The requirements of subsections (2) and (3) are

94

satisfied if the retail distributor enters the required

95

information into a centralized real-time electronic logbook

96

maintained by the department.

97

     (5)(a) Subject to available funding, the department shall

98

provide each retail distributor in this state access to a

99

centralized real-time electronic logbook for the purpose of

100

entering any transaction data required by this section into the

101

centralized real-time electronic logbook.

102

     (b) The centralized real-time electronic logbook must have

103

the capability to calculate state and federal limitations for the

104

purchase of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine.

105

     (c) The department may contract with a private vendor to

106

implement this section.

107

     (d) The department may not charge a retail distributor any

108

fee:

109

     1. To support the establishment or maintenance of the real-

110

time electronic logbook; or

111

     2. For any computer software required to be installed as

112

part of the real-time electronic logbook.

113

     (6) The department may allow access to the centralized

114

real-time electronic logbook to:

115

     (a) Any person authorized to prescribe or dispense products

116

containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine for

117

the purpose of providing medical care or pharmaceutical care;

118

     (b) A local, state, or federal law enforcement official or

119

agency or a local, state, or federal prosecutor;

120

     (c) A local, state, or federal official who requests access

121

for the purpose of facilitating a product recall necessary for

122

the protection of the public health and safety; or

123

     (d) The Board of Pharmacy for the purpose of investigating

124

a suspicious transaction.

125

     (7) The department shall destroy any record of a

126

transaction maintained in the centralized real-time electronic

127

logbook no later than 2 years after the date the transaction was

128

recorded into the centralized real-time electronic logbook unless

129

the transaction record is being used in an ongoing criminal

130

investigation or criminal proceeding.

131

     (8)(a) A retail distributor in this state is not liable

132

civilly for a sale of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or

133

phenylpropanolamine which occurs at another retail distributor in

134

this state.

135

     (b) A retail distributor who in good faith releases

136

information in a logbook to a federal, state, or local law

137

enforcement authority is immune from civil liability for the

138

release unless the release constitutes gross negligence or

139

intentional, wanton, or willful misconduct.

140

     (9) A person who:

141

     (a) Knowingly releases or discloses to any unauthorized

142

person any confidential information collected and maintained

143

under this section;

144

     (b) Obtains confidential information for a purpose not

145

authorized by this section; or

146

     (c) Uses or shares confidential information for any purpose

147

other than to ensure compliance with this section,

148

149

commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided

150

in s.775.082 or s. 775.083.

151

     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.