---
type: "Bill"
title: "Prescription drugs: prohibition on price discount."
description: "Existing law regulates the packaging, labeling, and advertising of drugs and devices."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20172018"
identifier: "AB 265"
citation: "California AB 265 (20172018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Prescription drugs: prohibition on price discount."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Wood"]
version_count: 12
action_count: 35
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2017-01-31"
last_action: "2017-10-09"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/cc5550a2-b435-4ca1-9c06-a89a634e2fa8"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265"
source_hash: "371d4eff430f47842d754e11da81983a0863817afd1c3fe61997472a2b92ee22"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 265 (20172018) — Prescription drugs: prohibition on price discount.

Existing law regulates the packaging, labeling, and advertising of drugs and devices.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **01/31/17 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26599INT)
2. **03/27/17 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26598AMD)
3. **04/26/17 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26597AMD)
4. **05/10/17 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26596AMD)
5. **05/30/17 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26595AMD)
6. **06/22/17 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26594AMD)
7. **06/27/17 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26593AMD)
8. **08/31/17 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26592AMD)
9. **09/07/17 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26591AMD)
10. **10/09/17 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26589CHP)
11. **AB265** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265)
12. **09/15/17 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB265&version=20170AB26590ENR)

## Votes

- 3rd Reading AB265 Wood et al. By Hernandez — **23–15** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **9–2** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended. — **11–4** (pass) · lower
- AB 265 Wood Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **51–17** (pass) · lower
- AB 265 WOOD Assembly Third Reading — **51–15** (pass) · lower
- Do pass — **7–2** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Wood — primary (person)
- Chiu — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-01-31** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2017-02-01** From printer. May be heard in committee March 3.
- **2017-02-13** Referred to Com. on HEALTH. `referral-committee`
- **2017-03-09** Coauthors revised.
- **2017-03-27** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-03-28** Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH. `referral-committee`
- **2017-04-25** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 2.) (April 18). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, amendment-introduction`
- **2017-04-26** Read second time and amended. `reading-1, amendment-passage, reading-2`
- **2017-04-27** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee`
- **2017-05-10** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on APPR. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-05-11** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee`
- **2017-05-17** In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. `referral-committee`
- **2017-05-26** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (May 26). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, amendment-introduction`
- **2017-05-30** Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. `reading-1, amendment-passage, reading-2`
- **2017-05-30** Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 52. Noes 24. Page 1776.)
- **2017-05-30** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-05-31** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 51. Noes 15. Page 1960.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2017-06-01** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2017-06-14** Referred to Com. on HEALTH. `referral-committee`
- **2017-06-22** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on HEALTH. `amendment-passage, referral-committee, reading-2, reading-1, amendment-introduction`
- **2017-06-26** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2017-06-27** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on HEALTH. `amendment-passage, referral-committee, reading-2, reading-1, amendment-introduction`
- **2017-07-06** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 2.) (July 5). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2017-07-10** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-08-31** Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `amendment-passage, reading-3, reading-1`
- **2017-09-01** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-09-07** Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `amendment-passage, reading-3, reading-1`
- **2017-09-11** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2017-09-12** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 23. Noes 15. Page 2771.). `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2017-09-13** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after September 15 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
- **2017-09-13** Assembly Rule 77(a) suspended. (Ayes 54. Noes 25. Page 3255.)
- **2017-09-13** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 51. Noes 17. Page 3333.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2017-09-20** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m.
- **2017-10-09** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2017-10-09** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 611, Statutes of 2017.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/cc5550a2-b435-4ca1-9c06-a89a634e2fa8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).