STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
627
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer 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:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01970-01-5
S. 627 2
1 (i) may be activated by an employee of a business establishment; and
2 (ii) creates a record of each activation of the override.
3 2. No person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited
4 liability company, or other entity shall sell to the same person, and a
5 person shall not purchase, products containing more than three and six
6 tenths grams per day or more than nine grams per thirty day period of
7 ephedrine or pseudoephedrine base, or their isomers. The limits shall
8 apply to the total amount of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine contained in
9 the products, and not the overall weight of the products.
10 3. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited
11 liability company, or other entity that offers for sale methamphetamine
12 precursor drugs in an over-the-counter sale shall ensure that all pack-
13 ages of the drugs are displayed behind a checkout counter or in a locked
14 case where the public is not permitted. Such person, firm, corporation,
15 partnership, association, limited liability company, or other entity
16 shall:
17 (a) require any person purchasing a nonprescription product that
18 contains pseudoephedrine or ephedrine to present valid government issued
19 photo identification at the point of sale.
20 (b) record the name and address of the purchaser; name and quantity of
21 product purchased; date and time purchased; and purchaser identification
22 type and number, such as driver license state and number, and require
23 the purchaser's signature in a electronic or paper logbook.
24 4. A person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited
25 liability company, or other entity shall, before completing a sale under
26 this section, electronically submit the required information to the
27 real-time stop sale system administered by the division of state police;
28 provided that the system is available without a charge to retailers for
29 access. Absent negligence, wantonness, recklessness, or deliberate
30 misconduct, any retailer utilizing the electronic sales tracking system
31 in accordance with this subdivision shall not be civilly liable as a
32 result of any act or omission in carrying out the duties required by
33 this section and shall be immune from liability to any third party
34 unless the retailer has violated any provision of this section in
35 relation to a claim brought for such violation.
36 (a) If a person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited
37 liability company, or other entity selling a nonprescription product
38 containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine experiences mechanical or elec-
39 tronic failure of the electronic sales tracking system or is otherwise
40 unable to comply with the electronic sales tracking requirement, the
41 retailer shall maintain a written log or an alternative electronic
42 recordkeeping mechanism until such time as the retailer is able to
43 comply with the electronic sales tracking requirement.
44 (b) The real-time stop sale system shall forward state transaction
45 records in the real-time stop sale system to the appropriate state agen-
46 cy weekly, and provide real-time access to the real-time stop sale
47 system information through the system's online portal to law enforcement
48 in the state as authorized by the agency.
49 (c) This system shall be capable of generating a stop sale alert,
50 which shall be a notification that completion of the sale would result
51 in the seller or purchaser violating the quantity limits set forth in
52 this section. The seller shall not complete the sale if the system
53 generates a stop sale alert. The system shall contain an override func-
54 tion that may be used by a dispenser of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine who
55 has a reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm if they do not complete a
S. 627 3
1 sale. Each instance in which the override function is utilized shall be
2 logged by the system.
3 5. A violation of any provision of this section is a class A misdemea-
4 nor, punishable by fine only.
5 (a) This section does not apply to a person who obtains the product
6 pursuant to a valid prescription.
7 (b) Nothing in this section requires the buyer to obtain a
8 prescription for the purchase of any methamphetamine precursor drug.
9 6. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited
10 liability company, or other entity who knowingly violates subdivision
11 two, three, four or five of this section shall, for the first such
12 violation, be subject to a civil penalty of not less than two hundred
13 fifty dollars nor more than one thousand dollars per violation, recover-
14 able in an action by any enforcement authority designated by any munici-
15 pality or political subdivision.
16 7. An owner, operator, supervisor, or manager of any business entity
17 that offers for sale methamphetamine precursor drugs whose employee or
18 agent is convicted of or charged with violating subdivision two, three,
19 four or five of this section is not subject to the civil penalties or
20 criminal penalties for violating any of such subdivisions if the person:
21 (a) did not have prior knowledge of, participate in, or direct the
22 employee or agent to commit the violation; and
23 (b) documents that an employee training program was in place to
24 provide the employee or agent with information on the state and federal
25 laws and regulations regarding methamphetamine precursor drugs.
26 8. This section does not apply to:
27 (a) methamphetamine precursor drugs certified by the state board of
28 pharmacy as being manufactured in a manner that prevents the drug from
29 being used to manufacture methamphetamine; or
30 (b) methamphetamine precursor drugs obtained pursuant to a valid
31 prescription.
32 9. The state board of pharmacy, in consultation with the division of
33 state police, shall certify methamphetamine precursor drugs that meet
34 the requirements of paragraph (a) of subdivision eight of this section
35 and publish an annual listing of such drugs.
36 10. This section preempts all local ordinances or regulations govern-
37 ing the sale by a business establishment of products containing ephed-
38 rine or pseudoephedrine. All ordinances enacted prior to the effective
39 date of this section are void.
40 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
41 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
42 ment, and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the imple-
43 mentation of this act on its effective date is authorized to be made on
44 or before such date.
