AN ACT to include all community‑based pharmacies operating under independent ownership in the DEFINITION of INDEPENDENT pharmacy.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 58‑51‑37(6) reads as rewritten:

(6)      Independent pharmacy. – A pharmacy that is part of a group has a limited market of 10 or fewer pharmacies under common ownership, including a pharmacy that is part of a group of one.states and that meets at least one of the following criteria:

a.         Is non‑publicly traded.

b.         Has a pharmacy‑focused core business objective.

SECTION 2.  Effective July 1, 2026, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Insurance the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to be used to support the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of S.L. 2025‑69, also known as The SCRIPT Act.

SECTION 3.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.