Maryland HB 1157, which we discussed in our February 2014 legislative update, has been signed by Governor O’Malley and is now state law. The law goes into effect on October 1, 2014, and impacts only those people who receive their massage license or registration for the first time on or after October 1, 2014. The changes made by the new law do not affect people who hold a current Maryland massage license or registration, or people who receive their license or registration between now and September 30, 2014.
The new law:
- Increases the number of hours required from an approved massage school from 500 hours to 600 hours, for both licensure and registration; and
- Specifies that the additional 60 hours that must be obtained from an institution of higher education in order to be licensed (but not registered) must now include at least 24 credit hours in basic and applied science courses related to health care, or 60 hours of general college credits in any subject and at least 24 hours of advanced massage therapy continuing education approved by the board.
If you have only 500 hours of massage education and have not applied for your license yet, you should apply now so that you receive your license before October 1, 2014 when the education requirement increases to 600 hours.
Maryland HB 401 has now been signed into law as well. HB 401 requires that all massage license and registration applicants submit to a criminal history records check as part of their application. HB 401 also takes effect on October 1, 2014.