Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires "bodyworks" establishments to comply with licensing and oversight requirements in the same manner as massage therapists.

Highlights:

• Requires the Division of Professional Licensure (DPL) to license and oversee the practice of bodywork therapy (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that the oversight and licensing requirements will apply to any facility, practice, employee, or school that provides training or services in bodywork therapy (Secs. 3-6).

• Authorizes law enforcement and the DPL to inspect establishments providing bodywork therapy and shut down any that aren’t compliant with the new requirements (Sec. 2).

• Requires the Board of Registration of Massage Therapy within the DPL to administer these regulations and to include 2 bodywork therapy practitioners and a law enforcement representative who specializes in human trafficking (Sec. 1).

• Defines bodywork therapy as the use of touch, words, or directed movement to “deepen awareness of patterns of movement in the body, or the affection of the human energy system or acupoints or Qi meridians” (Sec. 4).

Full Bill Text