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June 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.
Connecticut
Senate Bill 317
was introduced by Senator Stillman to make revisions to the
Department of Public Health statutes. It prohibits the creation of
separate licensing boards for several professions, including massage
therapy, which are currently regulated by the Department of Public
Health. SB 317 was favorably reported out of the Legislative
Commissioner’s Office on April 4, 2006. The bill was
referred by the Senate to Committee on
Insurance and Real Estate and ordered for immediate
transmittal on April 11, 2006. Rules were suspended and
transmitted on April 25, 2006. SB 317 was favorably reported out of
Committee. It was amended and tabled for the Senate Calendar on
April 26, 2006. The Senate passed SB 317, as amended, on May
2, 2006. The bill was favorably reported and tabled for the House
calendar on May 2, 2006. The amendments to the bill passed the
House and the Senate on May 3, 2006. SB 317 became Public
Act 06-195 and was transmitted to the Secretary of State on May 25,
2006. Last action taken: SB 317 was signed by the Governor on
June 7, 2006.
District of
Columbia
A resolution was
introduced on June 12, 2006 to confirm Beverly Rene McNeil to the
D.C. Board of Massage Therapy.
Massachusetts
House Bill 3412
to regulate massage therapy and create a board of registration of
massage therapy was favorably reported out of the Consumer
Protection and Professional Licensure Committee on September 29,
2005. The Senate companion bill, SB 2212, was referred to the
Senate Ways and Means Committee that same day. The Senate Ways and
Means Committee recommended passage of SB 2212 with an amendment.
The amended version became SB 2258, which was referred to the Senate
Ethics and Rules Committee on November 2, 2005. SB 2258 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. The measure, without the amendment, passed the
full Senate on November 15, 2005 and was referred back to the
Committee for consideration. On April 20, 2006, the House Ways and
Means Committee recommended passage of SB 2258 and referred the bill
to the House Committee on
Steering,
Policy and Scheduling. The Committee reported that the
matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting and
House Rules were suspended on April 24, 2006. SB 2258 had a second
reading and a third reading was ordered on April 24, 2006. The bill
was read a third time (title changed), amended and passed to be
engrossed in the House on May 1, 2006. The Senate
concurred with the House floor amendment to SB 2258 on May 4, 2006.
SB 2258 was enacted by the House on May 10, 2006. SB 2258 was laid before the Governor on May 15, 2006. An amendment to SB
2258 was added by the Governor on May 22, 2006. The bill was
returned to the Senate and referred to the Committee on Bills in the
Third Reading on May 22, 2006. The Governor’s amendment to SB 2258 was rejected on June 6, 2006. SB 2258 was laid before the Governor for the second time on
June 8, 2006. SB 2258 was returned by the Governor unsigned on June 15, 2006. The Senate overrode
the Governor’s veto of SB 2258 on June 22, 2006.
Last action taken: The House
overrode the Governor’s veto of SB 2258 on June 29, 2006. SB 2258 to regulate the massage therapy profession will become
public law in 90 days.
New Jersey
Assembly Bill
4711 was introduced on June 26, 2006 by Assemblyman Roberts and
Assemblyman Diegnan. A4711 would expand the base of the state sales
and use tax. Specifically, the measure would require a 6% sales tax
on all massage, bodywork or somatic services. Last action taken: The bill was referred to the Assembly Budget Committee on June 26, 2006 for
consideration.
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 will be held on the amended
bill. The public hearing is anticipated for August or early
September 2006.
Rhode Island
Senate Bill 3082
was introduced by Senator Goodwin on May 4, 2006. SB 3082 would expand the definition of massage therapy and increase
the penalty for practicing massage or maintaining a massage therapy
establishment without a state license. SB 3082 was referred to the Senate
Judiciary Committee on May 4,
2006. Rep. McCauley introduced a companion bill (HB 8137) in the
House on May 23, 2006. HB 8137 was referred to the House Health,
Education & Welfare Committee on May 23, 2006. Last action
taken: The House Health, Education & Welfare Committee recommended
the measure be held for further study on May 30, 2006. HB 8137 was
scheduled for hearing on May 30, 2006.
South Dakota
A public hearing will be held on July
24, 2006 by the South Dakota Board of Massage Therapy. The purpose
of the hearing will be to consider the adoption and amendment of
proposed rules that provide for applications and licenses for
qualified massage therapists, to set fees for licenses and other
functions of the board, to provide continuing education
requirements, set standards for disciplinary proceedings and set
professional liability or malpractice insurance limits for massage
therapists. The reason for adopting the proposed rules is to comply
with statute by licensing massage therapists in South Dakota. The
board is charged with the responsibility of setting standards for
massage therapists in order to protect the public. For more
information on the proposed rules, please visit the South Dakota
Board of Massage Therapy at
http://www.state.sd.us/doh/Massage/index.htm.
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.
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American Massage Therapy Association®
