Bill Text: MS SB2552 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio requirements; establish for licensed pharmacies.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [SB2552 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-SB2552-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Welfare
By: Senator(s) Frazier
Senate Bill 2552
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 73-21-111, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ESTABLISH PHARMACY TECHNICIAN-TO-PHARMACIST RATIO REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSED PHARMACIES THAT ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND FOR THOSE THAT ARE NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC; TO DIRECT THE MISSISSIPPI BOARD OF PHARMACY TO ADOPT RULES AND REGULATIONS NECESSARY TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE; TO EXCLUDE FROM BEING COUNTED TOWARD THE RATIO CERTAIN SUPPORTIVE PERSONNEL WHO ARE NOT PERFORMING THE FUNCTIONS OF A REGISTERED PHARMACY TECHNICIAN; TO AUTHORIZE A LICENSED PHARMACY TO EXCEED THE PHARMACY TECHNICIAN-TO-PHARMACIST RATIO IF ALL PHARMACY TECHNICIANS IN EXCESS OF THE APPLICABLE RATIO ARE NATIONALLY CERTIFIED BY A CERTIFICATION PROGRAM RECOGNIZED BY THE BOARD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 73-21-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-21-111. (1) The board shall make, adopt, amend and repeal, from time to time, such rules and regulations for the regulation of supportive personnel as may be deemed necessary by the board.
(2) Every person who acts or serves as a pharmacy technician in a pharmacy that is located in this state and permitted by the board shall obtain a registration from the board. To obtain a pharmacy technician registration the applicant must:
(a) Have submitted a written application on a form(s) prescribed by the board; and
(b) Be of good moral character; and
(c) Have paid the initial registration fee not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
(3) Each pharmacy technician shall renew his or her registration annually. To renew his or her registration, a technician must:
(a) Submit an application on a form prescribed by the board; and
(b) Pay a renewal fee not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each annual registration period. The board may add a surcharge of not more than Five Dollars ($5.00) to the registration renewal fee to assist in funding a program that assists impaired pharmacists, pharmacy students and pharmacy technicians.
(4) To ensure that all applicants are of good moral character, the board shall conduct a criminal history records check on all applicants for a license. In order to determine the applicant's suitability for licensing, the applicant shall be fingerprinted. The board shall submit the fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety for a check of the state criminal records and forward to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a check of the national criminal records. The Department of Public Safety shall disseminate the results of the state check and the national check to the board for a suitability determination. The board shall be authorized to collect from the applicant the amount of the fee that the Department of Public Safety charges the board for the fingerprinting, whether manual or electronic, and the state and national criminal history records checks.
(5) (a) A licensed pharmacy located in this state that is open to the public shall maintain a pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio of not more than five (5) pharmacy technicians for every one (1) licensed pharmacist on duty.
(b) A licensed pharmacy located in this state that is not open to the public shall maintain a pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio of not more than twelve (12) pharmacy technicians for every one (1) licensed pharmacist on duty.
(c) The board shall have the authority to adopt rules and regulations necessary to enforce and ensure compliance with the pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio requirements set forth in this subsection. The board shall not have authority to adopt rules or regulations establishing a pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio that is more restrictive than the ratios specified in this subsection.
(d) Supportive personnel who are not performing the functions of a registered pharmacy technician shall not be counted toward the pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio under this subsection. For purposes of this paragraph (d), "supportive personnel" means individuals who assist in non-dispensing and non-clinical tasks, including, but not limited to, cashiering, inventory management or administrative support, under the supervision of a pharmacist, and who do not perform duties requiring pharmacy technician registration as defined by board rule.
(e) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, a licensed pharmacy may exceed the pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio if all pharmacy technicians in excess of the applicable ratio are nationally certified by a certification program recognized by the board. The pharmacist in charge shall maintain documentation verifying the certification status of each such pharmacy technician and shall ensure compliance with all other applicable board rules and regulations.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
