BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 619|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 619
Author: Halderman (R)
Amended: 7/1/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS, PROF & ECON DEVELOP COMM. : 8-0, 06/13/11
AYES: Price, Emmerson, Corbett, Hernandez, Negrete McLeod,
Vargas, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 05/12/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Massage therapy
SOURCE : American Massage Therapy Association,
California Chapter
DIGEST : This bill changes the name of the Massage
Therapy Organization to the California Massage Therapy
Council (CAMTC) and makes a number of clarifying,
conforming and technical changes to Massage Therapy Act
(Act) regarding the approval of schools providing training
and curriculum in massage, reimbursements of costs incurred
by the CAMTC for denying a massage certificate or
disciplining a certificate holder, the advertising and
display of the massage certificate, and the granting of a
conditional certificate. This bill also provides for
severability of provisions within the Act so that the
invalidity of one provision shall not affect other
provisions within the Act.
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Senate Floor Amendments of 7/1/11 make some technical and
clarifying changes regarding the jurisdiction of local
governments over massage therapy businesses and
establishments and allows cities to require a background
check on owners of massage establishments.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1. Provides for certification of massage practitioners
and massage therapists, as defined, by the Massage
Therapy Organization (MTO) and specifies that the MTO
is a nonprofit organization meeting specified
requirements, and imposes certain duties on the MTO.
2. Provides that the MTO is to be governed by a board
of directors (Board).
3. Provides that the above mentioned entities may
choose not to exercise the right of selection of a
member to serve on the MTO Board and allows for the
MTO's bylaws to establish a process for appointing
other professional directors as determined by the
Board.
4. Requires the MTO to issue a "massage practitioner"
certificate to an applicant, who submits a written
application and provides satisfactory evidence that he
or she meets all of the specified education,
experience or examination requirements, or has a
current valid license from a local jurisdiction and
meets other education and/or experience requirements.
5. Requires the MTO to issue a "massage therapist"
certificate to an applicant who submits a written
application and provides with satisfactory evidence
that he or she meets all of the specified education,
experience or examination requirements.
6. Requires the MTO to issue a certificate to an
applicant who meets the other qualifications provided
for and holds a current and valid registration,
certification, or license from any other state whose
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licensure requirements meets or exceeds those defined
above.
7. Provides that the MTO shall determine whether or
not a school provides education that meets the
requirements of certification and requires the MTO to
investigate, if necessary, whether or not an applicant
has actually completed the education he or she claims
in his or her application and to conduct oral
interviews, if necessary, of any applicant to make any
investigation to establish that the information
received is accurate and satisfies any criteria
established pursuant to the Act.
8. Provides that prior to issuing a certificate to the
applicant or designating a custodian of records the
MTO shall obtain fingerprints, which may be in an
electronic format, from an applicant for certification
as a massage therapist or massage practitioner for the
purpose of conducting a criminal background check, and
specifies that the Department of Justice shall provide
the MTO with the specified information relating to an
applicant's criminal history.
9. Provides that the MTO may discipline a certificate
holder by any, or a combination of, the following
methods: a) probation with conditions; b) suspending
the certificate for a period not to exceed one year;
c) revoke the certificate; d) provide for conditional
certificate suspension; e) any other appropriate
action as authorized by its by-laws.
10. Requires the MTO to suspend a certificate if the
holder has been arrested and charged with any sexually
related or prostitution-related crime and to notify
the holder and his or her employer of the suspension,
and if the charges result in a conviction, the MTO
shall permanently revoke the certification; however,
if the holder is acquitted of the charges, the MTO
shall re-instate the certification.
This bill:
1. Changes the name of the Massage Therapy
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Organization to the "California Massage Therapy
Council" (CAMTC).
2. Clarifies that schools, as defined, which provide
education, training and curriculum in massage, shall
be approved by the CAMTC and if they meet other
specified requirements.
3. Eliminates the liability on the part of a
certificate applicant or certificate holder for any
charges incurred, services actually rendered or fees
incurred by the CAMTC in the denial of the certificate
or discipline of the certificate holder.
4. Provides that the CAMTC shall be sued only in the
county of its principal office.
5. Provides that a certificate holder shall include
the name under which he or she is certified and his or
her certificate number in any and all advertising and
shall display his or her certificate at his or her
place of business.
6. Clarifies that cities can charge business licensing
fees and impose zoning and conditional use permits on
establishments employing certified massage therapists.
7. Permits establishments employing certified massage
therapists to require a background check for
non-certified owners of a least five percent of a
massage establishment.
8. Specifies that a conditional certificate provided
by the CAMTC shall be immediately nullified rather
than revoked, without further action by the CAMTC, if
the time period specified by the CAMTC expires without
proof of completion of the requirements for additional
education and practice hours.
9. Authorizes the CAMTC to revoke the massage
certificate of an owner or operator of a massage
establishment or business, as specified, if his or her
employees violate provisions of the Act.
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10. Provides that the Act shall be liberally construed
to effectuate its purposes and that if any provisions
of the Act are held invalid that the invalidity shall
not affect other provisions or applications of the Act
and that it can be given effect without the invalid
provisions or application, and to this end the
provisions of the Act are severable.
11. Subjects the Act and the CAMTC to review by the
newly created Joint Sunset Review Committee of the
Legislature.
Background
The Practice of Massage Therapy in California . Massage has
grown into the third most requested Complementary and
Alternative Practice; only chiropractic and relaxation
techniques are more popular, according to the American
Massage Therapy Association, California Chapter (AMTA-CA).
Massage is used for managing stress, enhancing
self-awareness, maintaining health, increasing athletic
performance, rehabilitating from injuries, and as an
adjunct to medical treatment for a wide variety of
conditions.
Estimates based on surveys, professional affiliations, and
liability insurance show that up to 40,000 massage
therapists are currently practicing in California. Exact
numbers are hard to pinpoint given the high turnover rate
of the profession. Some massage therapists are independent
practitioners while a large number of others are employees
of spas and chiropractors.
According to the AMTA-CA, 220 schools in California are now
approved to offer instruction in massage, with programs
ranging from 100 hours to 1,000 hours. In addition to the
large number of proprietary schools approved by the Bureau
of Private Post-Secondary and Vocational Education or
nationally accredited, massage as a vocation is now taught
in cosmetology schools, trade schools, and several
community colleges.
Titles used in California by the massage profession
include: massage therapist, massage practitioner,
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certified massage therapist, massage technician,
bodyworker, masseur, masseuse, myotherapist, Nationally
Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Where no
local regulations exist, any title can be used.
The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage
and Bodywork (NCBTMB) certifies massage therapists and
bodyworkers on behalf of the profession. NCBTMB developed
and administers the National Certification Examination for
Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. There is also a
nationally recognized certification exam for practitioners
for certification in Asian bodywork therapies. This is
administered by the National Certification Commission for
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
According to the AMTA-CA, consumers do not know the
difference between a purchased certification and a
certification that requires a specific amount of training.
Different jurisdictions have different standards which
would indicate that there is no local government agreement
about what standards are necessary and sufficient.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/14/11)
American Massage Therapy Association, California Chapter
(source)
Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals
California Police Chiefs Association, Inc.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Associated Bodywork & Massage
Professionals (ABMP) is in support of this measure and
points out that the primary benefit of the passage of SB
731 (Oropeza), Chapter 384, Statutes of 2008, was to
provide massage therapists some financial relief from
restrictive and discriminatory local ordinances and from
having duplicative processes to practice in multiple
locations. The ABMP indicates that the current
certification program of CAMTC is working with over 20,000
individuals having met the qualifications for certification
and are enjoying the economic benefit of having to obtain
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only one credential to practice massage anywhere in
California. The ABMP believes these are needed technical
changes which will improve the Act.
The California Police Chiefs Association, Inc. is in
support and indicates that these are clean-up provisions
�to the Act] that are agreed upon by both the law
enforcement community and the body-work community. The
Police Chiefs "look forward to continuing to work
collaboratively in order to assure the elevation of the
body work profession while exorcizing the prostitution and
human traffic elements that have attempted to invade the
profession."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/12/11
AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Chesbro, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Cedillo, Conway, Garrick, Gorell,
Roger Hern�ndez, Bonnie Lowenthal, Mitchell, Portantino,
Torres
JJA:nl 7/6/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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