So far, it’s been a busy year for massage legislation and regulation. As several state legislative sessions wrap up for the year, let’s take a look at a few noteworthy bills.

Arkansas Senate Bill 145 was signed into law. It abolishes the Arkansas State Board of Massage Therapy and transfers all the board’s powers, duties, and functions, including rulemaking, licensing, and adjudications, to the Arkansas State Board of Health. The main provisions of the law go into effect October 1, 2015. While it is uncommon for a board to dissolve, this is an administrative transfer and most therapists should not notice any change in how their licenses are handled.
South Dakota House Bill 1102 passed. It addresses issues the state’s Board of Massage Therapy determined were barriers to licensure (for otherwise qualified applicants) that did not compromise public safety. The new law amends the state’s massage therapist licensing statute by removing the high school graduation requirement for licensure. The bill also clarifies that the massage board has authority to grant a massage therapist license to an applicant even though he or she “has been convicted of, or pled guilty to, a felony, any crime involving or relating to the practice of massage, or any crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude,” if the board determines that “the plea or conviction is of a nature or is sufficiently remote in time that the applicant does not constitute a risk to public safety.”
Oregon Senate Bill 298 proposes to increase entry-level education requirements for licensure from 500 hours to 625 hours—recommended by the Entry-Level Analysis Project (ELAP). Other states are in the early stages of drafting similar bills to reflect the ELAP recommendation as well. ABMP is supportive but determined to include language in legislative proposals that will ensure all licensees in good standing, active and inactive, are considered qualified and will remain licensed without having to obtain additional training. We are also advocating for states to adopt progressive endorsement application processes to ensure portability.

NCBMBT Proposes Licensing Massage Establishments
In addition to legislation, ABMP also monitors the actions of state massage therapy boards. Several
boards are currently reviewing regulations and drafting new ones.
The North Carolina Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy (NCBMBT) received public comments in May regarding its proposed regulations to begin licensing massage establishments. ABMP is generally opposed to state regulatory boards attempting to regulate businesses. In our experience, business regulation is best left to local jurisdictions. The stated purpose of the NCBMBT proposal to regulate establishments is to combat human trafficking; however, since regulatory boards are not law-enforcement agencies, there is not much they can do about human trafficking.  
Meanwhile, most local jurisdictions already have requirements for businesses in North Carolina. What the NCBMBT is proposing would cause many businesses to be double regulated by both city and state since there is nothing in the state law that prevents local jurisdictions from requiring a local license. This creates double the fees and double the regulation, but for what purpose? Penalizing legitimate businesses further by requiring another state license is unfair and burdensome. ABMP will continue to oppose such proposals.

Jean Robinson is ABMP’s director of government relations. Contact her at jean@abmp.com.