MASSAGE THERAPIST LICENSING

House Bill 5001 as introduced

Sponsor:  Rep. Dan Lauwers

Committee:  Regulatory Reform

Complete to 12-2-15

SUMMARY:

House Bill 5001 would amend Section 17959 of the Public Health Code by adding a way for an individual to receive a temporary massage therapist license, as well as by modifying existing requirements an individual must meet in order to be licensed as a massage therapist. The bill would take effect 90 days after it is enacted into law.

Under the bill, a temporary massage therapist license would be available to an individual who is preparing for the massage therapist competency exam, has successfully completed a supervised curriculum, and who has provided a copy of academic transcripts to the Michigan Board of Massage Therapy. A temporary license would be valid for 60 days after the date it is issued, on the date the temporary license holder was notified he or she did not pass the exam, or on the date the application for a regular license was denied for any reason, whichever happens first.

Also, the bill would strike the current requirement that to be licensed as a massage therapist an individual must have a high school diploma or equivalent.  Instead, the bill specifies that an individual has to present evidence in the form of an academic transcript of the successful completion of the required hours of coursework, and the number of hours would be increased from 500 hours to 625 hours.

MCL 333.17959

FISCAL IMPACT:

House Bill 5001, as introduced, would have a nominal fiscal impact on the Bureau of Professional Licensing (BPL) within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to the extent that the BPL would incur administrative costs to process and issue temporary licenses. As of October 31, 2014, there were 4,742 massage therapists licensed and the licensure of massage therapists generated $155,625 in net revenue over and above the $200,025 expended to administer and enforce licensure requirements.

                                                                                        Legislative Analyst:   Josh Roesner

                                                                                                Fiscal Analyst:   Paul B.A. Holland

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.