Oklahoma

House Bill 3199, sponsored by Representative Lee Denney, has been introduced in the Oklahoma State Legislature. The bill has not been assigned a committee hearing as of this writing. HB 3199 would establish a Massage Therapy Practice Act and create the Oklahoma Massage Therapy Advisory Committee to advise the State Board of Health in the implementation of this bill. Licenses would be required of massage therapists and massage therapy schools. Implications for massage therapists currently practicing For a period of one year after the effective date of the act, HB 3199 would allow existing practitioners to qualify for a license under the grandfathering provision by having met one of the following:

• Completed 250 hours of formal education and has practiced massage therapy for at least one year;
• Has practiced as a massage therapist for no less than three years;
• Completed a minimum 500 hour massage therapy program.

After the grandfathering period expires, all applicants would have to complete a massage therapy program consisting of a minimum 500 hours and pass the NCETMB or possibly another exam approved by the board. The state licensing of massage therapists would pre-empt local licensing of massage and bodyworkers currently required by municipalities. A single state license would be required to practice anywhere in Oklahoma. Professions exempt from obtaining a massage therapy license under this bill include: Asian Bodywork, Polarity, Trager, Structural Integrators, and Feldenkrais practitioners. Because the only titles protected include the word “massage”, it is ABMP’s opinion that these practitioners may continue to use the “bodyworker” title. ABMP will keep members updated as the bill progresses. ABMP concerns with HB 3199 ABMP has been involved with the coalition sponsored by the American Massage Therapy Association - Oklahoma Chapter for the last several years in the development of this bill. While many of our suggestions were accepted and added to the bill, unfortunately, some of our concerns have still not been addressed:

1. Perhaps most importantly, this bill requires anyone applying for an Oklahoma massage therapy license to “obtain legal residence status in Oklahoma.” If not addressed, massage therapists living in a state bordering Oklahoma but working in the state may be excluded. It is ABMP’s understanding that residency requirements have been ruled unconstitutional.
2. This bill correctly exempts out of state practitioners for specific short-term events such as emergency response situations. This is common and acceptable in legislation. Unfortunately, the language also exempting a practitioner described as “as a member of a nonprofit organization which is tax exempt under 26 United States Codes Annotated, Section 501(c) (Internal Revenue Code)" takes it a step too far. Because of the AMTA’s technical tax status as tax exempt, AMTA members from out of state would be able to practice without a license in Oklahoma, while other out of state practitioners could not. This is unacceptable and discriminatory.
3. A massage therapy school would have to provide the board with a list of instructors and their qualifications, as well as proof that the instructors are licensed as massage therapists as a condition of licensing. This is not only micro-managing schools but limiting who schools can hire to teach classes. Massage therapists are not the only ones qualified to teach in a massage school. If a school wants to hire a medical doctor, nurse, or chiropractor to teach anatomy and physiology for example, they should be able to.
4. “Massage and bodywork therapist” is defined in the bill poorly and the bill states that “massage and bodywork are used interchangeably in the bill.” This is confusing because many non-massage practitioners are exempt from the bill and commonly use the title “bodyworker.”
5. ABMP advocates against specific exams being mentioned by name in any bill. While other exams could be recognized by the board under this bill as it is written, the National Certification Exam offered by the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) is still mentioned by name, and is described in an entire section, as the exam of choice. The Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam (MBLEx) offered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) is not mentioned. Should the bill need to mention an exam, ABMP feels both exams should be included.

To read the entire bill, go to: http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/WebBillStatus/main.html