Technical Changes Made to California Statewide Voluntary Certification Law

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On August 1, 2011, Governor Brown signed into law the ABMP-supported Assembly Bill 619 that makes some changes to the existing voluntary certification statute. These changes, mostly technical in nature, do not change the rules on how you can obtain your statewide certification, which allows you to practice massage therapy anywhere in California without worrying about compliance with local massage therapy laws.

The changes made by AB 619 include:

• Removing the vague term “Massage Therapy Organization†and replacing it with “California Massage Therapy Council,†which is the nonprofit organization that oversees voluntary certification;
• Establishing protections for massage businesses that employ only California Massage Therapy Council (“CAMTCâ€) certified individuals by including such businesses in the law’s prohibition on local governments enforcing local massage therapy licensing laws against CAMTC certified massage therapists;
• Specifying that local governments may not charge a massage business more for a business licensing fee than it charges other professional services businesses;
• Requiring a CAMTC certified individual to include his or her name and CAMTC certification number in advertising and display the certificate at his or her place of business;
• Changing the terminology of “approved†school to “recognized†school;
• Specifying that litigation will take place in the county of CAMTC offices;
• Clarifying that conditional certificates automatically expire if the applicant doesn’t complete the process in the time allowed; and
• Add a commonly used severability clause.

ABMP is strongly encouraging its members to work towards obtaining CAMTC certification and want to ensure you are aware that after December 31, 2011 the doorway to “conditional certification†for those of you with less than 250 hours of formal education will slam shut. The update posted on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 outlines the details on how to obtain voluntary certification but please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Crack-down on Counterfeit Diplomas

Senate Bill 285 sends the message loud and clear that providing fraudulent massage therapy diplomas or other certificates is unlawful. Anyone caught providing a counterfeit diploma or other certificate is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 or imprisonment in a county jail up to a year.

In addition, SB 285 authorizes local law enforcement to provide information to the California Massage Therapy Council (“CAMTCâ€) about the details of the massage therapy instruction claimed on the fraudulent document. This information will assist the CAMTC create an easily accessible list of “institutions†offering fraudulent massage therapy training programs.