Citizenship

Citizenship
SUPPORT
S. 1925/Morahan
A. 1015/Cahill

PSSNY's March 09 Memo of Support

Nearly two hundred foreign born pharmacists who are in the United States legally cannot obtain a NYS Pharmacist license due to the requirement that they be citizens first. Over one hundred seventy-five foreign born temporarily licensed pharmacists have seen their licenses rescinded as their temporary status time expires. This has caused these highly trained, highly paid individuals to leave the state for any of the other 48 states that do not require citizenship as a prerequisite for licensure.

Only 13 of the 47 profession require "citizenship" prior to licensure and this has caused a hardship for both professionals and our foreign born students who pay some of the highest tuition to our schools of pharmacy. Students who complete the six-year Pharm.D. program are unable to go on to do "residencies" in New York State as they cannot get licensed.

The NYS citizenship requirement for licensure has been challenged in court as "unconstitutional" by a Canadian veterinarian and the state lost. That case only covers veterinarians and has sparked a similar case for over three dozen pharmacists. The question is: Do we have to have all 13 professions sue the state to lift this unconstitutional requirement? The costs to both the professional and the state are too great.

As the law currently stands, no foreign born pharmacist, who legally resides in the United States can be licensed to practice in New York until he/she can gain citizenship. We ask the Legislature to pass this legislation that we strongly support.