Massage businesses would need state licenses to operate

Owners would need a board license to operate a covered massage establishment. A covered establishment is generally a location where massage therapy is practiced, with the listed exceptions. Owners would apply on board forms, pay a fee, and provide fingerprints for a national criminal history check. The department may exempt people previously checked for a massage therapist license. The board may deny an application for specified license problems or criminal investigations or histories. The definition excludes therapists working at a customer's location, customer-operated devices, certain health care settings, approved student clinics, and solo practitioners. The bill text says this requirement would begin January 1, 2027; its explanation says July 1, 2027.

The board could inspect establishments and deny, revoke, or suspend their licenses for specified reasons. These provisions apply to establishments that need a license under the bill. The board may inspect before licensing, every two years, or after a complaint. It may deny an application for specified license or criminal-history reasons, revoke a license after a complaint, misconduct evidence, or a fraudulent application, and take emergency action to suspend it if an owner or officer faces pending criminal charges. Board rules would set application, safety, sanitation, code compliance, inspection, recordkeeping, and license-transfer requirements. An establishment could not operate while its license is suspended.

Establishments would keep specified worker and client records for three years, and people asked by police during an illegal-services investigation would have to show identification and applicable licenses. The recordkeeping duty applies to establishments. The display duty applies when a peace officer investigating a complaint of illegal services asks for the documents. Records would include therapists' names and license numbers, appointment schedules and receipts listing clients and therapists, and other records required by board rules. A person who violates the document-display requirement would commit a serious misdemeanor. The three-year period would run from the date each record is created.