Massage Law

Massage Law Changes Possible in 2021-2022

March 24, 2021

Since the beginning of the year, AMTA-SC and AMTA National has sent out several updates to members about the Bills proposed by the Massage Panel that would have an effect on our massage law. The Bills S 227 and H 3561 are duplicate bills that would require the following updates to our massage law:

Initial education hours for licensure would increase from 500 hours to 650.

All Licensed Massage Therapists will be required to undergo a criminal history background check which includes fingerprinting.

A Massage Therapy Establishment license will be required for any business employing or contracting with Licensed Massage Therapists. Exemptions were included for hospitals, long-term care facilities, licensed chiropractor’s, medical doctors, osteopath’s practices and licensed physical therapist’s practices. However, individuals practicing massage therapy within the confines of these offices are still required to have an active Massage Therapy license.

A Sole Practitioner Establishment License will be required for any licensed massage therapists that practices massage therapy on their own while not employed by or contracting with another establishment.

All Massage Therapy Establishments, including Sole Practitioner Establishments, are required to get a pre-licensing inspection and may be subject to periodic random inspections.

Fines for MTs or Establishments found guilty of not following the law were increased from $500 to $5000 in order to hopefully help deter illicit and illegal behavior.

And once the Bill gets through the full legislative process in the Senate and the House, the law will be enacted One (1) year after the Governor’s signature.

As of 3/24/2021, S 227 has made it through all the Senate committee hearings and has been discussed, debated and amended and the Senate voted 39-3 in favor of the Bill so it will move on to the House now. As for H 3561, it is still sitting in committee. The House Reps have been keeping an eye on S 227 to see how the Senate feels about this Bill and now that S 227 has crossed over to the House committee, they will be comparing the original version to the Senate version and will begin debate, discussion and probably amendments soon.

We will keep you updated of the progress of these Bills as often as possible!

We will be sending out eblast updates as often as possible in order to keep our members informed of the progress of these two Bills and If any changes occur to them while going through the committee hearings.

If you would like to voice your thoughts about these Bills please contact your State Representative or Senator via email or phone call. You can find your legislators here: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/legislatorssearch.php

And as always, if you have any questions about our legislative activities, please contact me at debra@amta-sc.org.

Thank you for being a part of AMTA-SC!

Debra Gallup, LMT
AMTA-SC President & Government Relations Chair

PREVIOUS UPDATES:

JANUARY 12, 2021

Happy New Year! I hope everyone’s new year is starting off healthy and everyone has been able to adjust to the new normal.

This past summer our Government Relations update informed the members that The Massage Therapy Panel was working on proposed recommendations that would change and update our massage law. For those who missed that update, the biggest changes for current licensed Massage Therapists and any business that employs or contracts with LMTs, would be the requirement to get a Massage Therapy Establishment License. This would require massage facilities, including sole practitioners, to receive inspections from the SC Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (SC LLR). Also, a requirement for massage therapists to get background checks with fingerprinting was added to the Bill.

While there was no movement of this Bill in the House at the beginning of 2020, the Practice Act Bill gained a Senator sponsor and was introduced in the Senate on March 19th, however, both bills died at the end of the 2020 legislative session due to Legislators returning form the shut down and only taking up business that was related to COVID, the budget, education and bills that had made it through all of the required committee hearings.

Now the 2021 Legislative session has begun! On January 12th, the Practice Act Bill was introduced in both the House and the Senate and both have gained more sponsors. The Senate Bill 227 is sponsored by Senators Katrina Shealy, Thomas McElveen and Margie Matthews and the House Bill 3561 is sponsored by Representatives Anne Thayer, Rita Allison and Annie McDaniel. The Senate Bill has been sent to the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee and the House Bill has been sent to the Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee.

And as always, if you have any questions about our legislative activities, please contact me at debra@amta-sc.org.

Thank you for being a part of AMTA-SC!

Debra Gallup, LMT
AMTA-SC President & Government Relations Chair