Relevant Links:
http://www.massagetoday.com/bill1822/stop_ab1822.php
http://www.senate.ca.gov/~newsen/senators/senators.htp
*** FLOOR ALERT ***
VOTE NO ON ASSEMBLY BILL 1822 (Swanson)
• AB 1822 was originally positioned as addressing human trafficking, but in reality was an
attempt to eviscerate SB 731, which provided for voluntary statewide certification of
massage therapists.
• SB 731 actually is working well as implemented by the California Massage Therapy
Council (CAMTC): 11,500 massage providers have been certified even while several
thousand others previously approved by cities have not received certification because of
more rigorous CAMTC education and criminal background check standards.
• CAMTC and the major massage professional organizations worked with the author and
sponsor of AB 1822 to transform it into a general clean-up bill, including further mutually
agreed upon tightening of standards for owners of massage establishments.
• The sponsor backtracked last week on commitments accepted during a Senate BP&ED
hearing, stripping out all the constructive clean-up language, leaving only provisions for
two more CAMTC board seats for specified law enforcement organizations.
• The League of California Cities and California State Association of Counties already have
CAMTC board seats; the League’s initial appointee, a retired LA Vice officer provided
instrumental help in developing astute CAMTC applicant screening procedures.
• This bill would add a seat for a designated organization, the California Police Chiefs
Association, that seeks to dramatically weaken CAMTC.
• California professions traditionally self-regulate. The imposition of law enforcement seats
onto a health profession board would establish a dangerous precedent that could easily
spread to boards regulating other professions.
• The responsibility of the CAMTC is to regulate the massage therapy profession, not act
as vice cops – to aid law enforcement, not act as law enforcement.
*****
At this point, it makes better sense to defer comprehensive clean-up legislation for SB
731 to the 2011 session. Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals opposes AB 1822