1. (a) Purpose. The board encourages all pharmacy technician trainees to become certified by taking and passing the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam or other examination approved by the board. However, the board will consider petitions for exemption on a case by case basis. This section outlines procedures to petition the board for an exemption to the certification requirements established by §568.002 of the Act (relating to Pharmacy Technician Registration Required).
2. (b) Long-term exempt pharmacy technicians. Long-term exempt pharmacy technicians are pharmacy technicians who, on September 1, 2001, had been continuously employed as a pharmacy technician in this state for at least 10 years and who received an exemption from the board.

3. (c) Rural county exempt pharmacy technicians. Rural county exempt pharmacy technicians are pharmacy technicians working in counties with a population of 50,000 or less and meet the following requirements.

   1. (1) Eligibility. An individual may petition the board for an exemption from the certification requirements established by §568.002 of the Act (relating to Pharmacy Technician Registration Required) if the individual works in a county with a population of 50,000 or less.

   2. (2) Petition process.

      1. (A) An individual shall petition the board for the exemption. The petition shall contain the following:

         1. (i) name of the individual;
         2. (ii) name, address, and license number of the pharmacy where the individual is employed;
         3. (iii) name of the county in which the pharmacy is located and the most recent official population estimate for the county from the Texas State Data Center;

         4. (iv) a notarized statement signed by the individual stating:

            1. (I) the reason(s) the individual is asking for the exemption, including reason(s) the individual has not taken and passed the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam or other examination approved by the board; and
            2. (II) that the information provided in the petition is true and correct; and

         5. (v) a notarized statement signed by the pharmacist-in-charge of the pharmacy the individual is currently working, stating that the:

            1. (I) pharmacist-in-charge supports the individual's petition for exemption;
            2. (II) individual has completed the pharmacy technician training program at the pharmacy; and
            3. (III) pharmacist-in-charge has personally worked with and observed that the individual is competent to perform the duties of a pharmacy technician.

      2. (B) Each petition shall be considered on an individual basis. In determining whether to grant the exemption, the board shall consider the information contained in the petition and additional information including the following:

         1. (i) the accuracy and completeness of the petition;
         2. (ii) reason(s) the individual is asking for the exemption;
         3. (iii) the population of the county;
         4. (iv) the number of pharmacies located in the county and adjacent counties and the number of pharmacy technicians working in these pharmacies;
         5. (v) unemployment rate in the county and adjacent counties; and

         6. (vi) the following information concerning the pharmacy where the individual is currently working:

            1. (I) the degree of compliance on previous compliance inspections; and
            2. (II) history of disciplinary action by the board or other regulatory agencies against the licenses held by the pharmacy or pharmacists working at the pharmacy.

      3. (C) After review of the petition, the individual and the pharmacist-in-charge of the pharmacy where the individual is working shall be notified in writing of approval or denial of the petition.

         1. (i) If the petition is approved, the individual shall be sent an exemption certificate, which shall be displayed at the pharmacy where the pharmacy technician is working.
         2. (ii) In lieu of the exemption, the board may grant the individual up to an additional 12 months to take and pass the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam or other examination approved by the board. During this additional time, the individual shall be designated a pharmacy technician trainee.

   3. (3) Limitations.

      1. (A) The exemption granted under this section may only be used at the pharmacy noted in the petition and may not be transferred to another pharmacy. If the pharmacy technician ceases employment at the pharmacy or changes employment, the exemption is canceled.
      2. (B) If the population of the county exceeds 50,000, the board shall cancel the exemption. The pharmacy technician and the pharmacist-in-charge of the pharmacy shall be notified when an exemption is canceled.
      3. (C) If the exemption granted under subparagraphs (A) or (B) of this paragraph is cancelled, the pharmacy technician's registration is void and the registration certificate must be surrendered to the Board.

Source Note:The provisions of this §297.7 adopted to be effective December 23, 2003, 28 TexReg 11264; amended to be effective September 7, 2004, 29 TexReg 8525; amended to be effective June 11, 2006, 31 TexReg 4640.