Colorado

Colorado Senate Bill 13-026 was recently introduced in the state legislature. If passed, the bill would amend the “Michael Skolnick Medical Transparency Act of 2010” to add massage therapists and others to the list of health care professional who must disclose certain information about their practice history to the state for inclusion in a publicly available database when they are applying for or renewing their registration.

We will keep our CO members apprised of the status of the bill.

Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) has adopted emergency rules establishing a Good Faith Provisional Registration process. This process provisionally registers any individual as a massage therapist who has taken steps to comply with Colorado law by April 1, 2009, but who will not have received their registration by that date.

To be eligible for provisional licensing, individuals will have had to submit the following by April 1, 2009:

The deadline for massage therapists to become state registered in the state of Colorado is April 1, 2009. You must be state registered by April to continue practicing. This is a mandatory registration. Applications and detailed instructions can be found at:
http://www.dora.state.co.us/massage-therapists/licensure.htm

Please note: Fingerprinting and background checks are mandatory and can take up to 12 weeks to be processed, start this process immediately.

From the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies:
New Colorado legislation requires all massage therapists in Colorado must hold a certificate of registration by April 1, 2009. The Colorado Division of Registrations is holding public meetings on Thursday, December 18, 2008, to discuss these changes. The free session is an opportunity to learn more and ask questions about new registration and licensing rules, educational requirements, and important deadlines.
 
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2008

On Monday, November 17, 2008, the Rules and Regulation Hearing was completed at the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). The applications for state registration will be available on 12/1/2008 at: http://www.dora.state.co.us/massage-therapists/index.htm

The Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) is hosting an information session on Saturday November 8, 2008 from 9am-noon. The purpose is to provide professionals impacted by new legislation (i.e. Massage Therapists and Occupational Therapists) with information regarding the Department and the new registration requirements for both professions. Please see the link
below for additional information: http://www.dora.state.co.us/registrations/2008_LegOutreachAnnounce.pdf

In addition to SB 219, which requires the state registration of massage therapists, two other bills affecting massage therapists also passed the legislature and were signed into law by Governor Ritter.

Senate Bill 219, providing for the state registration of massage therapists, was signed into law by Governor Ritter on June 2, 2008. The new law goes into effect on July 1, 2008. However, applications for state registration will not become available until April 1, 2009 at the earliest. There is no action for you to take at this time. ABMP will continue to keep members informed.

The law will benefit the massage therapy community in three primary ways:

SB 219 passed the Colorado legislature on Monday, May 5, and is now awaiting Governor Ritter's action. The governor has three choices: sign the bill into law, allow the bill to become law without his signature, or veto the bill. He has 30 days to decide. ABMP will continue to keep members informed.

SB 219, sponsored by Senator Chris Romer, has been advancing through the Colorado General Assembly. Currently the bill is scheduled to be heard by the House Appropriations Committee. A lot has changed since the introduction of the bill and first committee hearing on April 16, 2008.
Due to a compromise with the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), the bill has been amended from a licensure act to a mandatory registration program, which is a less rigid regulatory program. If passed, the bill would still benefit the massage therapy community in three primary ways: