HB 1309: Practitioners; clarify that all who dispense drugs are engaged in the practice of pharmacy and shall comply with all record keeping and other requirements

Georgia law already regulates who can dispense drugs and how, but this bill tightens and expands those rules. It amends O.C.G.A. § 26-4-130 so that any practitioner who dispenses drugs is treated as engaged in the practice of pharmacy and must follow the same record-keeping, labeling, packaging, and storage rules as pharmacists and pharmacies. It also gives the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy explicit authority to enforce, not just create, rules on drug dispensing. The bill also rewrites O.C.G.A. § 43-34-23, the law on physicians delegating authority to nurses and physician assistants. It adds a new pathway letting physicians delegate the authority to dispense dangerous drugs to advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants, under a signed dispensing procedure and consistent with pharmacy board rules, while specifically barring delegation to dispense Schedule II controlled substances. It also updates several definitions and cross-references, including tying the definition of 'practitioner' to the existing definition in Code Section 26-4-5 and renaming references to the 'Georgia Registered Professional Nurse Practice Act.'

• Clarifies that all practitioners who dispense drugs are engaged in the practice of pharmacy and must follow pharmacy record-keeping, labeling, packaging, and storage requirements (O.C.G.A. § 26-4-130).
• Gives the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy explicit authority to enforce, in addition to create, rules and regulations on drug dispensing.
• Changes the legal definition of 'practitioner' or 'practitioner of the healing arts' to match the definition already used elsewhere in Code Section 26-4-5.
• Creates a new delegation pathway letting physicians authorize advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants to dispense dangerous drugs under a signed dispensing procedure.
• Explicitly bars physicians from delegating authority to dispense Schedule II controlled substances.
• Updates definitions and renames statutory references, including formally naming the 'Georgia Registered Professional Nurse Practice Act.'

Georgia physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, and veterinarians who dispense drugs; pharmacies and pharmacists whose record-keeping standards now extend to other practitioners; and the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy, which gains enforcement authority.

Practitioners who dispense drugs directly, rather than writing prescriptions filled by a pharmacy, would face the same paperwork and storage rules pharmacies follow, potentially changing daily office procedures. Patients could also see more advanced practice nurses and physician assistants authorized to dispense dangerous drugs directly under physician delegation.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 26-4-130 to state that all practitioners who dispense drugs are engaged in the practice of pharmacy and must meet pharmacy record-keeping, labeling, packaging, and storage rules.
• Section 1 also updates the definition of 'practitioner' to match Code Section 26-4-5 and gives the pharmacy board power to enforce, not just make, dispensing rules.
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 43-34-23 to add a new subparagraph (C) and (D) allowing physicians to delegate dispensing of dangerous drugs to advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants under a dispensing procedure.
• Section 2 specifies this new dispensing delegation cannot be used to allow dispensing of Schedule II drugs.
• Section 2 renames the reference to nursing law as the 'Georgia Registered Professional Nurse Practice Act' and updates several cross-referenced definitions.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-02-18House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-17House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-12House Hopper (House)

• Mark Newton (R, HD-127)Primary sponsor
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)

• pharmacy regulation
• medical licensing
• nurse practitioners
• physician assistants
• prescription drugs