Originally appeared on the Lagniappe Daily news website.

BY DALE LIESCH
Jan 23, 2025
More than a week after a legislative board narrowly recommended substantial changes for the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy, the future of the agency’s executive secretary is uncertain.
After members of the state legislature’s Sunset Committee pushed through a series of recommendations, including that the board appoint a new executive secretary who has not worked for the agency in the last five years and also appoint four new members, the status of current Executive Secretary Donna Yeatman is unknown.
When asked to confirm whether Yeatman still worked for the board as of Thursday morning, board member Johnny Brooklere told a Lagniappe reporter that “personnel issues should be personal.”
Other members, including President Gary Mount, Tommy Cobb, Stacey Giles and Brandon Hicks did not return phone calls seeking comment on Yeatman’s status. A receptionist who answered the phone at the board office on Thursday morning told a reporter Yeatman was in a meeting. In the afternoon, a receptionist said Yeatman was on the other line.
Yeatman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The four new members the committee has recommended the board take on must include two pharmacy techs, an at-large member from the medical field and another at-large member. All of the new members will be appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey. The new members may serve no more than two terms and the current board members may serve out the remainder of their terms and, if they qualify, they can be re-appointed, State Rep. Kerry Underwood, R-Sheffield, said in the meeting.
The recommendations, which also take away the board’s authority to impose non disciplinary penalties, can be filed as part of a bill between now and Feb. 14 to be considered during the 2025 legislative session. If the bill fails to gain traction, the board could sunset, which is part of the reason it was approved by the committee on a slim 4-3 vote on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
State Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, said he voted against the recommendations because he didn’t feel they went far enough to hold the board accountable for its previous actions. However, he said if Yeatman is no longer with the board that would be a “ big step toward solving some of the problems.”
“I don’t think we will eliminate (the board), but changes are coming,” he said. “I think the board will probably adopt the changes.”
Kristie Williams, a massage therapist from Arley who has led the charge for years for reform among state licensure boards, said she approves of the recommendations made by the committee.
“It’s a good step for the legislative officials to take,” she said. “I agree with adding pharmacy techs to the board. They also want to add a consumer member. If you don’t have a consumer member, you’re doing something wrong.”
Joseph Kreps, a Birmingham attorney who has defended clients against accusations of the board previously, wrote in an email Thursday that the Sunset Committee’s vote on the recommended changes underscores the need for reform.
“The proposed sunset legislation, once enacted, represents a crucial step toward addressing the board's history of secrecy and questionable actions,” Kreps wrote.
The Sunset Committee’s recommendations follow an audit of the board from the state Examiner of Public Accounts that found 14 significant issues, finding the agency entered into secret deferral agreements with pharmacists, charged higher-than-allowed fine amounts and kept inaccurate recording of finances, among other issues.
The report found that the board in fiscal year 2023 shifted its financial records to reflect “miscellaneous income.” The change resulted in a 71-percent decline in revenue, but a 594-increase in “miscellaneous income.”
The report also found that the board is entering into what it termed as “deferral agreements.” Those agreements, rather than publicly scrutinized punishments, consist of fines that are as much as double the amount charged for a consent order, according to the report.
Kreps and Williams also questioned whether a Pharmacy Board meeting held Wednesday was done so legally.
A notification sent by the office of the Alabama Secretary of State in an email to Williams claims a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 22 was cancelled. Both Williams and Kreps said the meeting was held.
“The board appears to have blatantly violated open meetings laws by causing electronic notification from the Secretary of State to be sent to stakeholders on January 21, 2025, that the board meeting for January 22 had been canceled —when, in fact, it was not and proceeded as scheduled,” Kreps wrote.
Kreps said the board went into an hours-long executive session to discuss an “employee,” but made no public vote when the members reconvened in public.
“However, when the board returned nearly four hours later—two hours past the scheduled
time—no vote, explanation, determination, or announcement was provided to the public,” Kreps wrote.
Dale Liesch is assistant managing editor and a reporter with Lagniappe. He can be reached at dale@lagniappemobile.com
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