STATE OF NEW YORK
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10238
IN SENATE
May 7, 2026
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Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the regis-
tration of chain and community pharmacies
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 6808 of the education law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
3 3. Chain and community pharmacies; registration. a. Definitions. For
4 the purposes of this subdivision:
5 (1) "Chain pharmacy" means a publicly traded company having at least
6 twenty licensed pharmacies in New York state under the same ownership.
7 (2) "Community pharmacy" means privately held company having fewer
8 than twenty licensed pharmacies in New York state under the same owner-
9 ship.
10 b. Community pharmacy exceptions. The following pharmacies shall not
11 be considered a community pharmacy:
12 (1) government-owned.
13 (2) hospital-owned.
14 (3) owned by a supermarket or other general merchandise store.
15 (4) an extension of a medical practice, urgent care, outpatient
16 medical clinic, or outpatient surgical center.
17 (5) owned by a corporate chain of pharmacies with stores outside of
18 the state.
19 (6) a mail-order pharmacy.
20 (7) a pharmacy owned by a pharmacy benefit manager or health insurer.
21 c. Obtaining a designation. Each chain or community pharmacy shall be
22 designated as a chain or community pharmacy pursuant to an application
23 by the pharmacy ownership on a form to be prescribed by the department.
24 The designation shall be renewed every three years. The application
25 shall be accompanied by a fee of five hundred dollars.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
27 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
28 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
29 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
30 on or before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15546-01-6
