American Massage Therapy Association^®

AMTA Government Relations Committee
Legislative Briefing

July 2006

California

Senator Liz Figueroa introduced Senate Bill 412 on February 17, 2005 and the language has been amended since introduction.  SB 412 would provide for certification of massage practitioners and massage therapists by the Massage Therapy Organization.  Please refer to the AMTA California Chapter Website for a more detailed update on the status of this legislation and lobbying activities: http://www.amta-ca.org/html/licensing.htm.  Last action taken: SB 412 was amended in Assembly on June 5, 2006. 

Delaware

Senate Bill 403 is an act to amend Title 24 of the Delaware Code relating to professions and occupations.  The bill allows several state boards including Massage and Bodywork to waive convictions substantially related to the professions under certain conditions.  Other technical corrections are made to include making definitional sections consistent and correcting various reciprocal provisions.  Last action taken: SB 403 was signed by Governor Minner on July 20, 2006.  

Georgia

Governor Perdue issued executive orders on July 10, 2006 appointing members to the newly created Georgia Board of Massage Therapy.  The following individuals were appointed to the Board: Kathy Lescak, Melony Phillips-Gorin, Jane Johnson, Steven Earles and Marlene Gaskill. 

Kentucky

Governor Fletcher issued an executive order on July 6, 2006 to appoint new members of the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Massage Therapy.  The following individuals were appointed to serve Board terms expiring July 16, 2009: Denise M. Logsdon and Carmen S. Fowler. 

Massachusetts

The House and Senate overrode the Governor’s veto of SB 2258 and the bill was enacted on June 29, 2006.  The bill states that the board may issue a license to practice as a massage therapist to an applicant who satisfies the following minimum qualifications: (1) he shall have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent; (2) he is 18 years of age or older; (3) he has submitted 2 professional letters of reference, with at least 1 being from an employer or professional in the massage therapy or medical field; (4) he shall be of good moral character as determined by the discretion of the board; (5) he shall have successfully completed a course of study consisting of at least 500 classroom hours or an equivalent number of credit hours of supervised instruction at a licensed massage school; (6) he shall have not been convicted in any jurisdiction of sexually-related crime or crime involving moral turpitude for the 10 years immediately before the date of application; (7) he shall provide proof of professional liability coverage; and (8) he demonstrates such professional competence as may be required by the board’s regulations.  Last action taken: SB 2258 to regulate the massage therapy profession takes effect in 90 days.

Missouri

Senator Clemens introduced Senate Bill 756, which modifies the requirements for licensing and registration of certain professions including massage therapy.  Under the act, the Board of Therapeutic Massage may promulgate rules for granting licenses to applicants who have completed approved programs in other states consisting of less than 500 hours.  Massage businesses are barred from employing individuals to provide massage therapy unless the individuals are licensed massage therapists.  A complaint may be filed with the administrative hearing commission against individuals who practice at unlicensed businesses.  Last action taken: SB 756 was signed by Governor Blunt on June 29, 2006.   The law takes effect on August 28, 2006.   

North Carolina

Sections of Senate Bill 264 were adopted on July 19, 2006.  SB 264 appoints Nancy Toner Weinberger of Franklin County, Laura Allen of Rutherford Country, Jaime A. Huffman of Buncombe County and Jean E. Middleswarth of Forsyth County to the North Carolina Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy for terms expiring on June 30, 2009.

New Jersey

Assembly Bill 4901 was introduced on July 6, 2006 by Assemblyman Payne and Assemblywoman Cruz-Perez.  A4901 increases sales and use tax from 6% to 7% on July 15, 2006 and expands base of sales and use tax on October 1, 2006.  The measure would apply a sales tax on all massage, bodywork or somatic services.  Last action taken: A4901 passed both houses on July 8, 2006.  The measure was signed by the Governor and approved as Public Law 2006, c.44 on July 8, 2006. 

Pennsylvania

HB 1643 was introduced on June 6, 2005.  The bill would establish the State Board of Professional Massage Therapists and provide for funds, licensure, disciplinary action and remedies to regulate massage therapists.  Several changes were recently made to HB 1643 by House legislative staff upon recommendations from the chiropractors and others.  For more information on the recent changes to HB 1643 (including massage therapy definition and scope of practice), please contact the AMTA Pennsylvania Chapter or visit the Pennsylvania Chapter Website at www.amtapa.org.  Last action taken: The House Professional Licensure Committee unanimously amended HB 1643 on June 13, 2006.  The Committee announced a public hearing on HB 1643 to be held August 1, 2006. 

South Dakota

If you are interested in getting involved with your AMTA State Chapter or would like more information on legislative and regulatory activities in your area, please contact Amy K. Young, Government Relations Program Manager at the AMTA National Office.  Toll free (877) 905-2700 or e-mail ayoung@amtamassage.org.