2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 20 - Pharmacy (§§ 407 — 412c) › Subchapter III - Pharmacy Board (§§ 408 — 408c) › § 408 - Creation

The Puerto Rico Board of Pharmacy is hereby created as a government body attached to the Department of Health, responsible for safeguarding the health of the people, with exclusive power to regulate the admission, suspension, or separation from the practice of the profession of pharmacy and the occupation of pharmacy technician.
(a) Composition. — The Board shall be composed of seven (7) members appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico with the advice and consent of the Senate. The College of Pharmacists of Puerto Rico shall submit to the Governor a list of candidates. The Governor may appoint the members of the Board from among the candidates included in said list or any other person who meets the requirements set forth in this chapter.
(b) Term of the appointments. — The members of the Board shall be appointed for a four (4)-year term and shall discharge their office until the expiration of the term their respective appointment, or until their successors are appointed and take office. No person may be appointed as member of the Board for more than two (2) consecutive terms.
(c) Requirements of the members. — Six (6) members of the Board shall be pharmacists and one (1) shall be a pharmacy technician. All members shall be of recognized moral standing, residents of Puerto Rico and have practiced their profession or occupation for at least five (5) years immediately preceding the date of the appointment. At the time of their appointment, not less than three (3) members of the Board shall be practicing their profession in a community pharmacy, one (1) of the pharmaceutical industry, and one (1) in an institutional pharmacy. No member of the Board shall own, be a stockholder in or belong to a board of trustees or a board of directors of a university, college or technical college in which studies leading to a degree in the field of pharmacy or pharmacy technician are offered.
(d) Vacancies. — Any vacancy in the Board before the expiration of the member’s term, shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made and the new member shall carry out his/her functions for the term provided in subsection (b) of this section.
Whenever a vacancy occurs due to the expiration of any of the member’s appointment term, the Chairperson of the Board shall notify such event to the Governor and the College of Pharmacists within not less than sixty (60) days before the expiration date of said appointment, in order to expedite the appointment process of the new member. The College of Pharmacists shall submit a list of candidates to the Governor. The Governor may appoint the members of the Board from among the listed candidates or appoint any other person who meets all the requirements established in the act.
(e) Removal from office. — The Governor may remove from office any member of the Board for negligence in the performance of his/her duties as member thereof, for negligence in the practice of his/her profession or occupation, for conviction for a misdemeanor or felony involving moral turpitude or for having his/her pharmacist or pharmacy technician license suspended, cancelled, or revoked.
(f) Per diems. — The members of the Board shall not receive salary, fees, compensation or remuneration whatsoever for the performance of his/her functions. However, the members of the Board, including public officials or employees, shall be entitled to a per diem for each day or fraction thereof for each meeting they attend, which per diem shall be equal to the minimum per diems established for the members of the Legislature, except for the Chairperson of the Board, who shall receive a per diem equal to one hundred and thirty three percent (133%) of the per diem received by the other members of the Board. In addition, any traveling expenses incurred in the performance of his/her functions shall be reimbursed, subject to the applicable regulations of the Department of the Treasury.
(g) Meetings and quorum. — The Board shall hold at least six (6) regular meetings every year to address and resolve official matters. It may hold any necessary special meetings for the best performance of its functions, upon previous notice to the members at least twenty-four hours before the meeting. Four (4) members shall constitute a quorum in a duly-called Board meeting and the agreements shall be reached by the majority vote of its at the time of the vote.
(h) Internal operations. — The Board shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among the pharmacists who compose the same. The Vice-Chairperson shall perform the functions of the Chairperson in the event of his/her temporary absences. Both officials shall hold office for a one (1)-year term, counting from the date of their respective election, and may be reelected for not more than two (2) additional consecutive terms.
The Board shall adopt regulations for its internal operations and shall record all its proceedings in the appropriate minute book. Each minute shall be signed by the members who have attended such meeting.
History —Sept. 3, 2004, No. 247, § 3.01.