Kansas

Despite significant support from individual legislators, HB 2187 again failed to pass the Kansas Legislature. As in previous years, the bill would have set minimum training requirements, defined a scope of practice, provided an avenue for consumer complaints, and pre-empted local regulations. If passed, the bill would have required massage therapists to become licensed by the state under the Kansas State Board of Nursing, and would have established a Massage Therapy Advisory Committee to advise the Board in carrying out the provisions of the Act.

As previously reported, Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) and the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) Kansas chapter submitted a sunrise document, essentially an assessment and overview of the profession focusing on whether there is a need to license massage therapists in Kansas, to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The KDHE Occupational Credentialing Technical Review Committee (Committee) has been appointed to review the document in a series of four meetings.

The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) and the AMTA Kansas chapter submitted a sunrise document (essentially an application to license massage therapists in Kansas) to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The KDHE Occupational Credentialing Technical Review Committee was appointed to review the document in a series of four meetings, two of which have already occurred; it will make a recommendation to the legislature whether massage therapy should be regulated in the state of Kansas based on this document.