Bill Text: NY A06720 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Regulates the sale of methamphetamine precursor drugs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A06720 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A06720-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6720 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 15, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BUTTENSCHON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to the sale of over-the-counter methamphetamine precursor drugs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 2 391-oo to read as follows: 3 § 391-oo. Sale of methamphetamine precursor drugs. 1. For the purposes 4 of this section: 5 (a) "methamphetamine precursor drug" shall mean any compound, mixture, 6 or preparation containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine as its sole 7 active ingredient or as one of its active ingredients; and 8 (b) "real-time stop sale system" means a system intended to be used by 9 law enforcement agencies and pharmacies or other business establishments 10 that: 11 (A) is installed, operated, and maintained free of any one-time or 12 recurring charge to the business establishment or to the state; 13 (B) is able to communicate in real time with similar systems operated 14 in other states and similar systems containing information submitted by 15 more than one state; 16 (C) complies with the security policy of the criminal justice informa- 17 tion services division of the federal bureau of investigation; 18 (D) complies with information exchange standards adopted by the 19 national information exchange model; 20 (E) uses a mechanism to prevent the completion of a sale of a product 21 containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or non-pseudoephedrine that would 22 violate state or federal law regarding the purchase of a product 23 containing those substances; and 24 (F) is equipped with an override of the mechanism that: 25 (i) may be activated by an employee of a business establishment; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10049-01-9A. 6720 2 1 (ii) creates a record of each activation of the override. 2 2. No person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited 3 liability company, or other entity shall sell to the same person, and a 4 person shall not purchase, products containing more than three and six 5 tenths grams per day or more than nine grams per thirty day period of 6 ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base, or their isomers. The limits shall 7 apply to the total amount of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine contained in 8 the products, and not the overall weight of the products. 9 3. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited 10 liability company, or other entity that offers for sale methamphetamine 11 precursor drugs in an over-the-counter sale shall ensure that all pack- 12 ages of the drugs are displayed behind a checkout counter or in a locked 13 case where the public is not permitted. Such person, firm, corporation, 14 partnership, association, limited liability company, or other entity 15 shall: 16 (a) require any person purchasing a nonprescription product that 17 contains pseudoephedrine or ephedrine to present valid government issued 18 photo identification at the point of sale. 19 (b) record the name and address of the purchaser; name and quantity of 20 product purchased; date and time purchased; and purchaser identification 21 type and number, such as driver license state and number, and require 22 the purchaser's signature in a electronic or paper logbook. 23 4. A person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited 24 liability company, or other entity shall, before completing a sale under 25 this section, electronically submit the required information to the 26 real-time stop sale system administered by the division of state police; 27 provided that the system is available without a charge to retailers for 28 access. Absent negligence, wantonness, recklessness, or deliberate 29 misconduct, any retailer utilizing the electronic sales tracking system 30 in accordance with this subdivision shall not be civilly liable as a 31 result of any act or omission in carrying out the duties required by 32 this section and shall be immune from liability to any third party 33 unless the retailer has violated any provision of this section in 34 relation to a claim brought for such violation. 35 (a) If a person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited 36 liability company, or other entity selling a nonprescription product 37 containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine experiences mechanical or elec- 38 tronic failure of the electronic sales tracking system or is otherwise 39 unable to comply with the electronic sales tracking requirement, the 40 retailer shall maintain a written log or an alternative electronic 41 recordkeeping mechanism until such time as the retailer is able to 42 comply with the electronic sales tracking requirement. 43 (b) The real-time stop sale system shall forward state transaction 44 records in the real-time stop sale system to the appropriate state agen- 45 cy weekly, and provide real-time access to the real-time stop sale 46 system information through the system's online portal to law enforcement 47 in the state as authorized by the agency. 48 (c) This system shall be capable of generating a stop sale alert, 49 which shall be a notification that completion of the sale would result 50 in the seller or purchaser violating the quantity limits set forth in 51 this section. The seller shall not complete the sale if the system 52 generates a stop sale alert. The system shall contain an override func- 53 tion that may be used by a dispenser of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine who 54 has a reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm if they do not complete a 55 sale. Each instance in which the override function is utilized shall be 56 logged by the system.A. 6720 3 1 5. A violation of any provision of this section is a class A misdemea- 2 nor, punishable by fine only. 3 (a) This section does not apply to a person who obtains the product 4 pursuant to a valid prescription. 5 (b) Nothing in this section requires the buyer to obtain a 6 prescription for the purchase of any methamphetamine precursor drug. 7 6. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited 8 liability company, or other entity who knowingly violates subdivision 9 two, three, four or five of this section shall, for the first such 10 violation, be subject to a civil penalty of not less than two hundred 11 fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars per violation, recover- 12 able in an action by any enforcement authority designated by any munici- 13 pality or political subdivision. 14 7. An owner, operator, supervisor, or manager of any business entity 15 that offers for sale methamphetamine precursor drugs whose employee or 16 agent is convicted of or charged with violating subdivision two, three, 17 four or five of this section is not subject to the civil penalties or 18 criminal penalties for violating any of such subdivisions if the person: 19 (a) did not have prior knowledge of, participate in, or direct the 20 employee or agent to commit the violation; and 21 (b) documents that an employee training program was in place to 22 provide the employee or agent with information on the state and federal 23 laws and regulations regarding methamphetamine precursor drugs. 24 8. This section does not apply to: 25 (a) methamphetamine precursor drugs certified by the state board of 26 pharmacy as being manufactured in a manner that prevents the drug from 27 being used to manufacture methamphetamine; or 28 (b) methamphetamine precursor drugs obtained pursuant to a valid 29 prescription. 30 9. The state board of pharmacy, in consultation with the division of 31 state police, shall certify methamphetamine precursor drugs that meet 32 the requirements of paragraph (a) of subdivision eight of this section 33 and publish an annual listing of such drugs. 34 10. This section preempts all local ordinances or regulations govern- 35 ing the sale by a business establishment of products containing ephed- 36 rine or pseudoephedrine. All ordinances enacted prior to the effective 37 date of this section are void. 38 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 39 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 40 ment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the imple- 41 mentation of this act on its effective date is authorized to be made and 42 completed on or before such date.
