§973.1. Louisiana Board of Pharmacy; criminal history record information

            A. For purposes of this Section, the following definitions apply:

            (1) "Applicant" means an individual who has applied to the board for the issuance or reinstatement of any controlled dangerous substance license that the board is authorized by law to issue.

            (2) "Board" means the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy.

            (3) "Bureau" means the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information.

            (4) "Criminal history record" or "criminal history record information" means information collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, bills of information, or any formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, including sentencing, correctional supervision, and release. The terms do not include information gathered or collected for intelligence or investigatory purposes, nor do the terms include any identification information which does not indicate involvement of the individual in the criminal justice system.

            (5) "FBI" means the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States Department of Justice.

            (6) "Licensure" means any controlled dangerous substance license that the board is authorized to issue.

            B. In addition to any other requirement established by rule, the board may require an applicant who is not in possession of a valid and verifiable license or other credential from a standing professional board of the state of Louisiana or from the Louisiana Department of Health, bureau of health services financing, health standards, or their successors, to do the following as a condition for eligibility for licensure:

            (1) Submit fingerprints and other identifying information to the board.

            (2) Permit the board to request and obtain state and national criminal history record information on the applicant.

            C.(1) The costs of providing the information required under this Section shall be charged by the bureau, as specified in R.S. 15:587, to the board including any additional costs of providing the national criminal history records check for information that pertains to the applicant.

            (2) The board may impose any or all of such fees or costs on the applicant.

            D. Upon request by the board and upon the board's submission of an applicant's fingerprints and other identifying information as may be required, the bureau shall conduct a search of its criminal history record information relative to the applicant and report the results of its search to the board within sixty days from receipt of such request. Pursuant to R.S. 15:587, the bureau may charge the board a processing fee.

            E. If the criminal history record information reported by the bureau to the board does not provide grounds for disqualification of the applicant for licensure by the board, the board may forward the applicant's fingerprints and other identifying information as may be required to the FBI with a request for a search of national criminal history record information relative to the applicant.

            F. Any state or national criminal history record information that is obtained by the board from the bureau or FBI and that is not already a matter of public record shall not be public record and shall be confidential, restricted to the exclusive use of the board, its members, officers, investigators, agents, and attorneys in evaluating the applicant's eligibility or ineligibility for licensure. No information or record related to the state or national criminal history record information of an applicant shall be released or otherwise disclosed to any other person or agency, except with the written consent of the applicant or by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

            Acts 2019, No. 219, §1.