PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- After a five-month delay, a postponed disciplinary hearing by the Department of Health into a dozen alleged violations by a pharmacy owned by state Sen. Leo Blais, R-Coventry, is back on the docket for mid June.

A Department of Health spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that the hearing by the department's Board of Pharmacy that had originally been scheduled for Dec.18 has now been rescheduled for 11 a.m. June 18. The spokeswoman had no explanation for the delay.

While Blais has declined to talk in any detail about the Department of Health findings, the original agenda said the hearing would center on allegations of "unprofessional conduct," and more specifically, "on the question of whether the Department of Health, Health Services Regulation, Board of Pharmacy should revoke or suspend [Blais'] license to practice pharmacy in the State of Rhode Island."

According to the hearing notice, these were some of the findings of a "routine inspection" of the Pawtuxet Valley Prescription Center, in Coventry, owned and operated by Blais, on Oct. 22, 2007:

Misbranded drugs, a failure to segregate "outdated, unusable or mislabeled" medication to make sure none of it was dispensed, questions about technician training and the finding that on the day of the inspection there was "no adequately trained pharmacist for compounding medications."

The agenda also pointed to questions about the way the pharmacy kept its "inventory of controlled substances," and said there were "no established expiration dates for bulk products/active ingredients...only 'packaged on' dates."

The agenda said: "This conduct constitutes unprofessional conduct in the State of [Rhode Island] and as such is grounds for disciplinary action ... You are hereby given the opportunity for a hearing on the question of whether your pharmacy license should be revoked, suspended or why you should be otherwise disciplined."

Blais challenged Sen. Dennis Algiere, R-Westerly, earlier this session for a position that Algiere has held for more than a decade - Senate minority leader- after the election day defeat of Sen. June Gibbs, R-Middletown, left only four Republicans in the 38-member Senate, and they split two-to-two over who should be their leader. Blais eventually ended the standoff by dropping out of the contest.