Assigned to HHS                                                                                                                     FOR COMMITTEE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session

FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2071

dentists; registration; civil penalty; repeal

Purpose

Repeals the prohibition of drug dispensing by, and the civil penalty assessed against, dentists who dispense drugs for profit without being registered to do so by the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners (BODEX).

Background

Dentists may dispense drugs and devices, except schedule II controlled substances that are opioids, kept by the dentist if: 1) all drugs are dispensed in packages labeled with specified information; 2) the dentist enters the name and strength of the drug dispensed, the date the drug was dispensed and the therapeutic reason for use of the drug into the patient's dental record; and 3) the dentist keeps all drugs in a locked cabinet or room, controls access to the cabinet or room by a written procedure and maintains an ongoing inventory of its contents. However, except in an emergency situation, a dentist who dispenses a drug for profit without being registered by BODEX to do so is subject to a civil penalty between $300 and $1,000 and is also prohibited from further dispensing for a period of time determined by BODEX (A.R.S § 32-1298).

Ten percent of all fees, fines and other revenue received by BODEX is deposited in the state General Fund (state GF), including the civil penalty repealed in H.B. 2071 (A.R.S. § 32-1212). However, this civil penalty is assessed for noncompliance with a requirement that does not currently exist elsewhere in statute or law. For this reason, there is no fiscal impact to the state GF associated with this legislation.

Provisions

1. Repeals, for dentists who dispense drugs for profit without being registered by BODEX to do so, the:

a) applicable civil penalty assessed; and

b) prohibition of further drug dispensing for a time period prescribed by BODEX.

2. Makes technical and conforming changes.

3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

House Action

RA                  1/24/24      DP          6-0-0-0

3^rd Read          2/6/24                       52-3-2-0-3

Prepared by Senate Research

February 22, 2024

MM/slp