Two bills introduced in the Hawaii legislature this session, Hawaii HB 2334 and SB 2863, would allow the state to issue a citation and impose a $250 fine per violation to any licensee for:
(1) Operation of a massage therapy establishment without a licensed principal massage therapist or licensed designee in attendance on the premises during business hours;
(2) Failure of an apprentice to wear a conspicuously placed name tag stating the apprentice's name and the word "apprentice";
(3) Failure of a massage therapy establishment to conspicuously display a current massage therapy establishment license and the current licenses and permits of all persons employed by the massage therapy establishment; or
(4) Failure of a massage therapist or massage therapy establishment to include the respective massage therapist's or massage therapy establishment's current license number in any advertisement.
These requirements already exist under Hawaii law, but the minimum fine would be increased under these bills. The Director of Regulated Industries Complaints informed us that the bill’s goal is to address unlicensed practice, not to add new regulations for licensed MT’s. If the bills pass, the law would become effective July 1, 2016.