Read ABMP Director of Government Relations Laura Puryear's comments to the California Senate Appropriations Committee opposing Assembly Bill 1703.
California
California Massage Therapy Council
1 Capitol Mall #800
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-669-5336
Fax: 916-669-5337
Email: info@camtc.org
> Website
Voluntary Certification
Title: Certified Massage Therapist
Requirement: Pass a CAMTC-approved competency assessment exam; requirement paused until 2027, background check, fingerprints, and local requirements may apply
Renewal: no CEU requirement/2 years
Assembly Bill 1504 seeks to evaluate the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) by assessing its effectiveness—and downfalls—through what’s known as a “sunset review process” and implementing any resulting recommendations. ABMP believes California must sunset the CAMTC and join the majority of the country in establishing statewide massage licensure. Voice your opinion on the bill ahead of the April 29 committee hearing.
The California Massage Therapy Council approved a $100 certification fee increase—a 50 percent markup from the previous $200. Now is the time to forward your comments to your legislators to explain how this affects you.
The California Massage Therapy Council voted 5–1 to raise massage therapy certification fees to $300, a 50 percent increase, beginning April 1, 2023.
The California massage therapy community has an opportunity to join 45 other licensed states by instituting professional licensing in place of the current uneven, incomplete voluntary certification process administered by a private organization, the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC).
After being postponed in 2020, the California Massage Therapy Act is up for sunset review this legislative session. The Committee on Business and Professions is hosting a meeting Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. PST and you can attend virtually. You can also submit comments to the committee if you think CAMTC should continue or licensure should be considered.
Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) into law on September 18, 2019. It will become effective on January 1, 2020.
Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court issued a decision that will affect whether California workers are classified as employees or independent contractors. The case, Dynamex v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, states that in order to classify a worker as an independent contractor, the person or business who hires the worker must prove all three of the following things:
Les Sweeney, NCTM
President, ABMP
The blogosphere has heated up lately regarding implementation of statewide massage regulations in California-we think that's healthy. The massage community needs to be engaged in offering its opinions. It took six years to get a bill passed; how the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) implements the law is just as important.
On Saturday, September 27, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 731 into law. When fully implemented, the new law makes available regulatory relief for the nearly 40,000 individuals practicing massage therapy in California.