California · 2025–26 Regular Session · Assembly Bill
AB 447: Emergency room patient prescriptions.
Enacted Official data
- Introduced
- In committee
- Passed one chamber
- Passed both chambers
- Enacted
Last official action: ·Record last updated:
Plain-language summary
AB 447 is a assembly bill introduced in the California Assembly on February 6, 2025. According to its official title, it concerns: Emergency room patient prescriptions. Primary sponsor: Mark González (D). Most recent recorded action (October 6, 2025): Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 363, Statutes of 2025.
Generated automatically from the official title, sponsor list, and status record only. It does not characterize the bill’s purpose or effects. How summaries are written
Official summary
Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.
Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, establishes the California State Board of Pharmacy for the licensure and regulation of pharmacists and pharmacies. Existing law authorizes a prescriber to dispense a dangerous drug, including a controlled substance, to an emergency room patient if specified requirements are met, including that the dangerous drug is acquired by the hospital pharmacy.
This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, authorize a prescriber to dispense an unused portion of a dangerous drug acquired by the hospital pharmacy to an emergency room patient upon discharge if certain conditions are satisfied, including that the dangerous drug is not a controlled substance and that dispensing the unused portion of the dangerous drug is required to continue treatment of the patient.
Existing law requires an automated drug delivery system (ADDS) that is installed, leased, owned, or operated in California to be licensed by the board. Existing law exempts an automated unit dose system (AUDS), a type of ADDS, from licensure if the AUDS is used solely to provide doses administered to patients while in a licensed general acute care hospital facility or a licensed acute psychiatric hospital facility if the licensed hospital pharmacy owns or leases the AUDS and owns the dangerous drugs and dangerous devices in the AUDS.
This bill would also exempt from licensure an AUDS that is used to dispense dangerous drugs to emergency room patients in accordance with specified requirements.
Sponsors
Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 1
| Name | Role | Party | Chamber | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark González | Primary sponsor | Democratic | Assembly | 54 |
“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.
Recent official actions
- Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 363, Statutes of 2025.
- Approved by the Governor.
- Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
- In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
- Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 2250.).
- Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
- From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar.
- From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
- From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
- In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- Referred to Coms. on B. P. & E.D. and HEALTH.
- In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.