May Mississippi's pharmacy board give licensee contact information to the pharmacists association, and how many votes does the board need to act?

Plain-English summary

The Mississippi Board of Pharmacy may provide licensed pharmacists' license and contact information to the Mississippi Pharmacists Association for the association's statutory work nominating board candidates and distributing election ballots. The Attorney General concluded that the application-record exemption did not bar that transfer.

Section 73-52-1(1) exempted license applications from the Public Records Act. The requested transfer was not a response to a public-records request; it was information sharing needed for duties assigned by section 73-21-75.

The opinion also concluded that board action requires a majority of the quorum present, not a majority of all appointed members. With seven appointed members, at least four must attend. Three votes suffice when four or five attend, and four votes are needed when six or seven attend.

What this means for you

Board of Pharmacy and licensing staff

The opinion treats the necessary licensee list as information the board must supply for the association's candidate and ballot duties. It does not make license applications generally public.

Pharmacists Association and licensed pharmacists

The association may receive contact information for the statutory nomination and election process described in section 73-21-75.

Board members

A quorum is at least four of seven members. Once a quorum is present, action takes a majority of those present under the common-law rule applied by the opinion.

Common questions

Does the license-application exemption prohibit this transfer?

No. The opinion distinguishes a statutory information transfer from disclosure in response to a public-records request.

How many members must attend a board meeting?

At least four of the seven appointed members.

How many votes are needed when five members attend?

Three. The same number is required when four attend; four votes are required when six or seven attend.

Background and statutory framework

Executive Director Susan McCoy explained that the board held the only complete list of licensed Mississippi pharmacists and their contact information. She asked about sharing it with the association and about the voting language in section 73-21-77(5).

Section 73-21-75 assigned the association a role in board nominations and pharmacist ballots. Section 73-52-1(1) protected license applications from public-records disclosure, and section 73-21-77(5) set the quorum and voting rule.

Citations and references

• Miss. Code Ann. § 73-21-75
• Miss. Code Ann. § 73-21-77(5)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 73-21-83
• Miss. Code Ann. § 73-52-1(1)
• Ezell v. City of Pascagoula, 240 So. 2d 700 (Miss. 1970)

Source

• Index page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/S.-McCoy-August-25-2026-Mississippi-Board-of-Pharmacy.pdf

Original opinion text

August 25, 2026
Susan McCoy
Executive Director, Mississippi Board of Pharmacy
6311 Ridgewood Road, Suite E 401
Jackson, Mississippi 39211
Re:

Mississippi Board of Pharmacy

Dear Ms. McCoy:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion. Background According to your request, the Board of Pharmacy is the only entity that has a list of every pharmacist holding a valid Mississippi license and their contact information. This information is collected during the license application process. Questions Presented

1. Does Mississippi Code Annotated Section 73-21-75(3) allow the Board of Pharmacy to provide
   the Mississippi Pharmacists Association (“Association”) with the contact information of licensed Mississippi pharmacists, or would it be prohibited by Section 73-52-1, which provides that license applications are exempt from the Public Records Act?
2. Section 73-21-77(5) requires “[a] majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum
   for the conduct of the meetings and all actions shall be by a majority.” Is the total number of votes needed for the Board of Pharmacy to take action a majority of the total number of board members or a majority of the members present at a given meeting? Brief Response
3. Given that the Association is tasked with recommending potential board members, who must
   meet certain licensure requirements, and with providing ballots to licensed Mississippi pharmacists if an election is required, Section 73-21-75 necessarily requires the Board of Pharmacy, the licensing entity, to provide license and contact information to the Association. Section 73-52-1(1) does not prohibit the Board of Pharmacy from providing the Association with the contact 550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201 POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205 TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680

Susan McCoy
August 25, 2026
Page 2
information of licensed Mississippi pharmacists for the purpose of fulfilling its statutory duties under Section 73-21-75.

2. A majority of the quorum present at a given meeting is all that is required for the Board of
   Pharmacy to adopt an action.
   Applicable Law and Discussion
   The Board of Pharmacy is the licensing entity for pharmacists in Mississippi. Miss. Code Ann. § 73-21-83. Section 73-21-75 establishes the composition of the Board of Pharmacy and requires that each board member “[b]e a pharmacist licensed and in good standing to practice pharmacy in the State of Mississippi and have actively engaged in the practice of pharmacy in Mississippi for a period of at least five years.” The Governor appoints each member from a list of five names submitted by the Association with input from additional pharmacist associations and societies. Id. This section further provides that “[i]f an election is required to narrow the number of potential candidates for nominations to the board, the Mississippi Pharmacists Association shall provide a ballot to each pharmacist holding a valid Mississippi license.” Id. at (3). With respect to public records, Section 73-52-1(1) provides: “Applications for licensure in the possession of a public body, as defined by paragraph (a) of Section 25-61-3, except that which may be released to the person who made the application or with the prior written consent of the person who made the application, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.” You ask whether this section prohibits the Board of Pharmacy from providing the Association with a list of licensed pharmacists and their contact information. It does not. Section 73-52-1(1) only exempts licensure applications from the provisions of the Public Records Act, which is not implicated in your factual scenario. Here, the contact information is not being provided by the Board of Pharmacy to the Association in response to a public records request. Rather, it is being provided so that the Board of Pharmacy may have properly appointed and qualified board members and so the Pharmacy Association may fulfill its statutory duties. Given that the Association is tasked with recommending potential board members, who must meet certain licensure requirements, and with providing ballots to licensed Mississippi pharmacists if an election is required, Section 73-21-75 necessarily requires the Board of Pharmacy, the licensing entity, to provide license and contact information to the Association. Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that Section 73-52-1(1) does not prohibit the Board of Pharmacy from providing the Association with the contact information of licensed Mississippi pharmacists for the purpose of fulfilling its statutory duties under Section 73-21-75. Your second question asks about the number of votes required for the Board of Pharmacy to adopt an action. According to Section 73-21-77(5): “A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of the meeting and all actions of the board shall be by a majority.” As you note, the statute does not specify whether the ‘majority’ required to adopt a measure must be a majority of the total number of appointed board members or a majority of the quorum present at a meeting. “[U]nder common law a majority of a quorum is all that is required to adopt a measure[,] and members present but not voting are deemed to have voted with the majority in absence of a different statutory or constitutional requirement.” MS AG Op., Young at 550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201 POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205 TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680

Susan McCoy
August 25, 2026
Page 3
*1 (Oct. 14, 1980) (citing Ezell v. City of Pascagoula, 240 So. 2d 700 (Miss. 1970)). Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that a majority of the quorum present at a given meeting is all that is required for the Board of Pharmacy to adopt an action. The Board of Pharmacy consists of seven appointed members. Miss. Code Ann. § 73-21-75(1). Thus, four or more members must be present for the Board of Pharmacy to hold a proper meeting. If four or five members are present, three votes are required to adopt a motion. If six or seven members are present, four votes are required to adopt a motion. If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL By:

/s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General

550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201
POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205
TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680