California Massage Law Enacted

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. Today is not the end of a now six year process – creation of a governing board, hiring a staff, developing policies, advertising the availability of applications for state-level certification, processing applications, and finally issuing certifications all lie ahead. Indeed, language in the bill states that no certifications may be issued prior to September 1, 2009. Neither does this bill mandate anything for individual massage practitioners. It is a voluntary certification bill. Those who qualify, elect to seek, and secure a certification from the yet to be formed California Massage Therapy Organization will gain the right to practice anywhere in the state without having to secure massage therapy licenses from individual cities or counties. Potentially, the cost of a state-level certification will be meaningfully less than what many individuals are paying now for local permits. I understand that not every ABMP California member will cheer SB 731 becoming law. While the latest California member survey we conducted (July 2008) found 83% support for the bill, I respect the contrary views of the other 17% and hope the voluntary nature of the law assuages their disagreement. Having offered these caveats, some celebration seems in order. While highly imperfect, and some distance from the original legislative draft, SB 731 appears to solve a huge problem with the practice of massage within California. This law looks at bona fide massage therapists as professionals, not as suspect providers of illicit services. Those electing to become certified will be able to have their qualifications vetted by a knowledgeable massage organization rather than by local police departments. Discriminatory zoning rules singling out massage therapists could no longer be enforced against individuals certified by this new massage organization. Over time the new law raises educational requirements to enter the profession, but up front it provides avenues for experienced practitioners to qualify for certification with fewer formal education hours. View a copy of the complete bill. ABMP will soon be sending to each California member via regular mail information on the bill and the standards for becoming certified under its provisions. As the new Massage Organization is formed and begins shaping rules and practices in 2009, ABMP will again send specific guidance about becoming certified to all members. While I am certain numerous recipients of this electronic communication have interpretation questions about how the law will apply to apply to your individual situation, please hold off those inquiries until after receiving the first of those future letters. The governing structure for the Massage Therapy Organization is described in the bill. Because it will be a private organization outside of state government, board members are not selected by the Governor. Rather, organizations of varying types may qualify to appoint one or more board members. Once we present our credentials, ABMP will be entitled to two seats on the founding board. If you feel qualified and are interested in serving on that body, please by October 20 send a resume and a cover letter expressing interest to: rsb@abmp.com. ABMP’s President will make the selections. Weight will be given to involvement and contributions to this legislative effort over the past six years, but there may well be other individuals who possess some useful combination of massage work experience, insights about massage education, knowledge about consumer needs, and participation in government processes. Our colleagues in this legislative effort, the California chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association, will also have two seats on the board and should be acknowledged for their perseverance and commitment of resources in this effort. This six-year road started as a conversation among colleagues, required compromise among varying viewpoints within the profession, and ended with a largely shared vision to pass a law that will improve the regulatory structure for massage therapists who choose to be certified. Over the past two years, Massage Envy has also been strongly supportive of these legislative efforts – testifying, writing support letters, and contributing financially. After a rocky relationship start, I am pleased to report that in the end the California Chiropractic Association not only supported the bill, but also actively lobbied on its behalf. That support helped meaningfully, and we appreciate that. We wish that we had also had support of the California Physical Therapy Association, but that did not come to pass. ABMP owes genuine gratitude to three individuals. State Senator Jenny Oropeza agreed to serve as author of and advocate for SB 731, stepping up to the plate two years ago when many of her colleagues were wary or simply had other priorities. Kathryn Scott and Judy Wolen, our government relations representatives with the firm of Capital Partners in Sacramento made huge contributions. They have been ABMP’s strategists and implementing point persons in this effort for five years. Yes, ABMP paid them for their services, but their creative, persistent efforts moved beyond executing an assignment into the realm of genuine caring about helping the massage therapy profession. What started as an assignment became a personal mission. On a personal note, I am proud to have lent some combination of Swedish stubbornness and skill at mediating diverse ABMP member views to this effort. Several ABMP staff colleagues and a so-called “kitchen cabinet” of about two-dozen ABMP California members also uncomplainingly and repeatedly put shoulder to the wheel to make this effort ultimately successful. This journey has been lengthy already and certainly has had its full share of disappointments along the way. It has required considerable ABMP senior management time along with dollar outlays for outside services. We kept at it because many of our 12,000+ California members face every day an unjust and intolerable regulatory burden. We have consistently described SB 731 as an imperfect solution, but it does comprise an important step forward in enabling ABMP members to be recognized as professionals and to be regulated in a time and cost-effective manner. Bob Benson Chairman