News

AR S 145 was recently introduced in the Arkansas state legislature.  The bill proposes to amend the Arkansas massage therapy law by abolishing the State Board of Massage Therapy and transferring all of the Board’s powers, duties, and functions, including rulemaking, licensing, and adjudications, to the Arkansas State Board of Health.  We will keep you informed of important developments on this bill.

Two new bills introduced in the Arkansas legislature, HB 1562 and HB 1589, seek to exempt practitioners of Bowen therapy and Bowen techniques from the state’s massage licensure requirement.  Under these bills, Bowen practitioners would not be required to hold a state massage license to practice in Arkansas as long as they are certified by a professional or credentialing agency which (1) requires a minimum level of training, demonstrati

A new bill, Oregon SB 298, has been introduced in the Oregon Senate that proposes to regulate bodywork practitioners in same manner that Oregon law currently regulates massage therapists.  Under the bill, those practicing bodywork would be required to obtain a state license, just as massage practitioners are currently required to do.  “Bodywork” is defined in the bill as:  “any form of touch therapy that uses manipulation, movement, energy or repatterning to produce structural and functional c

Currently, massage therapists in Indiana are governed by the professional licensing standards of practice set forth in Indiana Code 25-1-11.  Under a new bill recently introduced in the Indiana legislature, HB 1360, massage therapists would instead be governed by the health professions standards of practice set forth in Indiana Code 25-1-9.  This change would mak

A new bill introduced in the Washington state legislature, HB 1252, would amend the state’s massage therapy law by imposing new criminal penalties on massage and reflexology business owners who allow unlicensed practice in their businesses.  The bill states that any person who, “with knowledge or criminal negligence,” allows the unlicensed practice of massage or reflexology in his or her massage or reflexology business is guilty of a gross misdemeanor for the first violation, and a class C felony for s

Nevada AB 126, recently introduced in the state legislature, proposes to make several changes to the state’s massage therapy law.  Among those proposed changes are:

• Language exempting nail technologists from the massage licensing requirement if they massage only the hands, feet, forearms, or lower legs of a client within their permissible scope of practice;

The members of the Alaska Board of Massage Therapists have been appointed by the Governor, and the Board held its first Board meeting on February 5 and 6, 2015.  Information about the Board, and the agenda for the February Board meeting, can be found here. 

New bills affecting the reflexology and massage therapy professions have been introduced in the New York State legislature this session. AB 2286 and SB 2599 would require that anyone practicing reflexology in New York State obtain a New York reflexology license.  The bills would create a new State Board of Reflexology to administer the licensing program.  In order to obtain the new mandatory license, an applicant would be required to:

As mentioned in our prior update, the Minnesota voluntary credentialing bill for massage therapists did not pass in 2014.  However, the bill has been reintroduced this year in the Minnesota House of Representatives as House File 644. Representative Nick Zerwas is the chief author and there are over 25 co-authors. If passed, the bill would:

Two bills have recently been introduced in North Dakota that could impact licensed massage therapists in the state.