Bill Text: CA AB1147 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Massage therapy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-18 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 406, Statutes of 2014. [AB1147 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1147-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1147 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gomez
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Sections 4601 and 4612 of the Business and
Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1147, as amended, Gomez. Massage therapy.
Existing law, until January 1, 2015, provides for the voluntary
certification of massage practitioners and massage therapists by the
California Massage Therapy Council.
Existing law specifies the requirements for the council to issue
to an applicant a certificate as a massage practitioner, including,
but not limited to, successfully completing curricula in massage and
related subjects totaling a minimum of 250 hours or the credit unit
equivalent, as specified.
This bill would additionally require an applicant for a
certificate as a massage practitioner to pass a massage and bodywork
competency assessment examination that meets generally recognized
psychometric principles and standards, and that is approved by the
council.
Existing law specifies the requirements for the council to issue
to an applicant a certificate as a massage therapist, including, but
not limited to, (1) successfully completing curricula in massage and
related subjects totaling a minimum of 500 hours or the credit unit
equivalent, as specified, or (2) successfully completing curricula in
massage and related subjects totaling a minimum of 250 hours, as
specified, and passing a massage and bodywork competency assessment
examination that meets generally recognized psychometric principles
and standards, and that is approved by the council.
This bill would instead require an applicant for a certificate as
a massage therapist to successfully complete curricula in massage and
related subjects totaling a minimum of 500 hours or the credit unit
equivalent, as specified, and to pass the massage and bodywork
competency assessment examination as described above.
Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to
impose certain requirements on massage establishments or businesses
that are the sole proprietorship of an individual certified pursuant
to existing state law or that employ or use only persons who are so
certified. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county
to, among other things, adopt reasonable health and safety
requirements, as specified, pertaining to those massage
establishments or businesses, and to require an applicant for a
business license to operate a massage business or establishment to
fill out an application that requests relevant information, as
specified.
This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to
require a massage establishment or business described above to apply
for and receive a revocable certificate of registration. The bill
would authorize a city, county, or city and county to require from an
applicant, among other things, copies of specified identification
and a statement that the applicant business
will only employ or use certified persons to provide massage
services and that failure to comply with this provision may result in
revocation of suspension or revocation of,
imposition of conditions upon, or action against the
certificate of registration. The bill would authorize a city, county,
or city and county to require a massage establishment or business to
comply with specified local ordinances, regulations, rules,
requirements, or restrictions as a condition of granting
or maintaining a revocable certificate of registration and would
authorize a city, county, or city and county to revoke
to, at its sole discretion, suspend, revoke, or impose
conditions upon a certificate of registration for cause.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 4601 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4601. (a) The council shall issue a certificate under this
chapter to an applicant who satisfies the requirements of this
chapter.
(b) (1) In order to obtain certification as a massage
practitioner, an applicant shall submit a written application and
provide the council with satisfactory evidence that he or she meets
all of the following requirements:
(A) The applicant is 18 years of age or older.
(B) The applicant has successfully completed, at an approved
school, curricula in massage and related subjects, totaling a minimum
of 250 hours or the credit unit equivalent, that incorporates
appropriate school assessment of student knowledge and skills.
Included in the hours shall be instruction addressing anatomy and
physiology, contraindications, health and hygiene, and business and
ethics, with at least 100 hours of the required minimum 250 hours
devoted to these curriculum areas.
(C) The applicant has passed a massage and bodywork competency
assessment examination that meets generally recognized psychometric
principles and standards, and that is approved by the council. The
successful completion of this examination may have been accomplished
before the date the council is authorized by this chapter to begin
issuing certificates.
(D) All fees required by the council have been paid.
(2) New certificates shall not be issued pursuant to this
subdivision after December 31, 2015. Certificates issued pursuant to
this section or subdivision (a) or (c) of Section 4604 on or before
December 31, 2015, shall, after December 31, 2015, be renewed without
any additional educational requirements, provided that the
certificate holder continues to be qualified pursuant to this
chapter.
(c) In order to obtain certification as a massage therapist, an
applicant shall submit a written application and provide the council
with satisfactory evidence that he or she meets all of the following
requirements:
(1) The applicant is 18 years of age or older.
(2) The applicant has successfully completed the curricula in
massage and related subjects totaling a minimum of 500 hours or the
credit unit equivalent. Of this 500 hours, a minimum of 250 hours
shall be from approved schools. The remaining 250 hours required may
be secured either from approved or registered schools, or from
continuing education providers approved by, or registered with, the
council or the Department of Consumer Affairs. After December 31,
2015, applicants may only satisfy the curricula in massage and
related subjects from approved schools.
(3) The applicant has passed a massage and bodywork competency
assessment examination that meets generally recognized psychometric
principles and standards, and that is approved by the council. The
successful completion of this examination may have been accomplished
before the date the council is authorized by this chapter to begin
issuing certificates.
(4) All fees required by the council have been paid.
(d) The council shall issue a certificate to an applicant who
meets the other qualifications of this chapter and holds a current
and valid registration, certification, or license from any other
state whose licensure requirements meet or exceed those defined
within this chapter. The council shall have discretion to give credit
for comparable academic work completed by an applicant in a program
outside of California.
(e) An applicant applying for a massage therapist certificate
shall file with the council a written application provided by the
council, showing to the satisfaction of the council that he or she
meets all of the requirements of this chapter.
(f) Any certification issued under this chapter shall be subject
to renewal every two years in a manner prescribed by the council, and
shall expire unless renewed in that manner. The council may provide
for the late renewal of a certificate.
(g) (1) The council shall have the responsibility to determine
that the school or schools from which an applicant has obtained the
education required by this chapter meet the requirements of this
chapter. If the council has any reason to question whether or not the
applicant received the education that is required by this chapter
from the school or schools that the applicant is claiming, the
council shall investigate the facts to determine that the applicant
received the required education prior to issuing a certificate.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1) and any other provision of this
chapter for which the council is authorized to receive factual
information as a condition of taking any action, the council shall
have the authority to conduct oral interviews of the applicant and
others or to make any investigation deemed necessary to establish
that the information received is accurate and satisfies any criteria
established by this chapter.
(h) The certificate issued pursuant to this chapter, as well as
any identification card issued by the council, shall be surrendered
to the council by any certificate holder whose certificate has been
suspended or revoked.
SEC. 2. Section 4612 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4612. (a) (1) The holder of a certificate issued pursuant to this
chapter shall have the right to practice massage, consistent with
this chapter and the qualifications established by his or her
certification, in any city, county, or city and county in this state
and shall not be required to obtain any other license, permit, or
other authorization, except as provided in this section, to engage in
that practice.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a city, county, or
city and county shall not enact an ordinance that requires a
license, permit, or other authorization to provide massage for
compensation by an individual who is certified pursuant to this
chapter and who is practicing consistent with the qualifications
established by his or her certification, or by a massage business or
massage establishment that employs or uses only persons who are
certified pursuant to this chapter to provide massage for
compensation. No provision of any ordinance enacted by a city,
county, or city and county that is in effect before the effective
date of this chapter, and that requires a license, permit, or other
authorization to provide massage for compensation, may be enforced
against an individual who is certified pursuant to this chapter or
against a massage business or massage establishment that employs or
uses only persons who are certified pursuant to this chapter to
provide massage for compensation.
(3) Except as provided in subdivision (b), nothing in this section
shall be interpreted to prevent a city, county, or city and county
from adopting or enforcing any local ordinance that provides for
reasonable health and safety requirements for massage establishments
or businesses. Subdivision (b) shall not apply to any massage
establishment or business that employs or uses persons to provide
massage services who are not certified pursuant to this chapter.
(b) (1) This subdivision shall apply only to massage
establishments or businesses that are sole proprietorships, where the
sole proprietor is certified pursuant to this chapter, and to
massage establishments or businesses that employ or use only persons
certified pursuant to this chapter to provide massage services. For
purposes of this subdivision, a sole proprietorship is a business
where the owner is the only person employed by that business to
provide massage services.
(2) (A) Any massage establishment or business described in
paragraph (1) shall maintain on its premises evidence for review by
local authorities that demonstrates that all persons providing
massage services are certified.
(B) Nothing in this section shall preclude a city, county, or city
and county from including in a local ordinance a provision that
requires a business described in paragraph (1) to file copies or
provide other evidence of the certificates held by the persons who
are providing massage services at the business.
(3) A city, county, or city and county may charge a massage
business or establishment a business licensing fee, provided that the
fee shall be no higher than the lowest fee that is applied to other
individuals and businesses providing professional services, as
defined in subdivision (a) of Section 13401 of the Corporations Code.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a city, county, or city
and county from enacting ordinances, regulations, rules,
requirements, restrictions, land use regulations, moratoria,
conditional use permits, or zoning requirements applicable to an
individual certified pursuant to this chapter or to a massage
establishment or business that uses only individuals who are
certified pursuant to this chapter to provide massage for
compensation, provided that, unless otherwise exempted by this
chapter, these ordinances, regulations, rules, requirements,
restrictions, land use regulations, moratoria, conditional use
permits, and zoning requirements shall be no different than the
requirements that are uniformly applied to all other individuals and
businesses providing professional services, as defined in subdivision
(a) of Section 13401 of the Corporations Code. No provision of any
ordinance, regulation, rule, requirement, restriction, land use
regulation, moratoria, conditional use permit, or zoning requirement
enacted by a city, county, or city and county that is in effect
before the effective date of this chapter, and that is inconsistent
with this paragraph, may be enforced against an individual who is
certified pursuant to this chapter or against a massage business or
massage establishment that uses only individuals who are certified
pursuant to this chapter to provide massage for compensation.
(5) Local building code or physical facility requirements
applicable to massage establishments or businesses shall not require
additional restroom, shower, or other facilities that are not
uniformly applicable to other professional or personal service
businesses, nor shall building or facility requirements be adopted
that (A) require unlocked doors when there is no staff available to
ensure security for clients and massage staff who are behind closed
doors, or (B) require windows that provide a view into massage rooms
that interfere with the privacy of clients of the massage business.
(6) A city, county, or city and county may adopt reasonable health
and safety requirements with respect to massage establishments or
businesses, including, but not limited to, requirements for
cleanliness of massage rooms, towels and linens, and reasonable
attire and personal hygiene requirements for persons providing
massage services, provided that nothing in this paragraph shall be
interpreted to authorize adoption of local ordinances that impose
additional qualifications, such as medical examinations, background
checks, or other criteria, upon any person certified pursuant to this
chapter.
(7) Nothing in this section shall preclude a city, county, or city
and county from doing any of the following:
(A) Requiring an applicant for a business license to operate a
massage business or establishment to fill out an application that
requests the applicant to provide relevant information, as long as
the information requested is the same as that required of other
individuals and professionals providing professional services as
defined in subdivision (a) of Section 13401 of the Corporations Code.
(B) Making reasonable investigations into the information so
provided.
(C) Denying or restricting a business license if the applicant has
provided materially false information.
(c) An owner or operator of a massage business or establishment
who is certified pursuant to this chapter shall be responsible for
the conduct of all employees or independent contractors working on
the premises of the business. Failure to comply with this chapter may
result in revocation of the owner's or operator's certificate in
accordance with Section 4603. Nothing in this section shall preclude
a local ordinance from authorizing suspension, revocation, or other
restriction of a license or permit issued to a massage establishment
or business if violations of this chapter, or of the local ordinance,
occur on the business premises.
(d) Nothing in this section shall preclude a city, county, or city
and county from adopting a local ordinance that is applicable to
massage businesses or establishments described in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) and that does either of the following:
(1) Provides that duly authorized officials of the city, county,
or city and county have the right to conduct reasonable inspections,
during regular business hours, to ensure compliance with this
chapter, the local ordinance, or other applicable fire and health and
safety requirements.
(2) Requires an owner or operator to notify the city, county, or
city and county of any intention to rename, change management, or
convey the business to another person.
(e) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preclude a city,
county, or city and county from requiring a background check of an
owner or operator of a massage establishment who owns 5 percent or
more of a massage business or massage establishment and who is not
certified pursuant to this chapter. The background check may include,
but is not limited to, a criminal background check, including
requiring submission of fingerprints for a state and federal criminal
background check, submission of an application that requires the
applicant to state information, including, but not limited to, the
applicant's business, occupation, and employment history for the 10
years preceding the date of application, the inclusive dates of same,
and the name and address of any massage business or other like
establishment owned or operated by any person who is subject to the
background check requirement of this subdivision. If a noncertified
owner's or operator's background check results in a finding that the
city, county, or city and county determines is relevant to owning or
operating a massage establishment, then the provisions of
subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to that establishment and
the city, county, or city and county may regulate that establishment
in any manner it deems proper that is in accordance with the law.
(f) (1) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a city, county, or
city and county from including a provision in a local ordinance
that requires requiring the owner or
owners of a massage establishment or business described in paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b) to apply for and receive a revocable
certificate of registration.
(2) As part of the application for a certificate of registration,
a city, county, or city and county may require the following from an
applicant:
(A) The full true name under which the massage establishment or
business will be conducted.
(B) The present or proposed address where the massage
establishment or business will be conducted.
(C) The full true legal name and mailing address of the owner or
owners of the massage establishment or business.
(D) A copy of a certificate, or any other evidence of
certification, issued to each person pursuant to this chapter who
will be providing massage services at the massage establishment or
business.
(E) A copy of a photographic government-issued identification card
of the owner or owners of the massage establishment or business.
(F) A statement that the applicant
business will only employ or use persons certified pursuant to
this chapter to provide massage services and that failure to comply
with this provision may result in revocation of
suspension or revocation of, imposition of conditions upon, or
action against the certificate of registration.
(G) A statement that the applicant will provide written
notification of any changes to the original application within 10
days of that change occurring.
(H) Authorization for the city, county, or city and county to
investigate the truth of the information contained in the
application.
(I) The payment of a fee to conduct a background check pursuant to
subdivision (e) if the owner or owners of the massage establishment
or business applying for the certificate of registration are not
certified pursuant to this chapter and own 5 percent or more of the
massage establishment or business.
(3) A city, county, or city and county may require a massage
establishment or business to comply with any applicable local
ordinance, regulation, rule, requirement, or restriction
passed pursuant to subdivision (b) that complies with
subdivision (b) or (d) as a condition of granting or
maintaining a revocable certificate of registration, including, but
not limited to, those provisions pertaining to health and safety
or zoning .
(4) A city, county, or city and county may exempt certain classes
of persons or businesses from compliance with the requirements for a
certificate of registration.
(5) A city, county, or city and county may make the certificate of
registration nontransferable.
(6) A city, county, or city and county may revoke
may, at its sole discretion, suspend, revoke, impose
conditions upon, or otherwise act against a certificate of
registration for cause.
