H. B. 4035
(By Delegates Fleischauer, Staton, Fragale, Dalton, Varner,
Hutchins and Yeager)
[Introduced January 20, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections three, five, six, seven and
eleven, article thirty-seven, chapter thirty of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, relating to licensing massage therapists;
composition of board; duties of board to propose rules;
requirements for licensure; and exemptions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three, five, six, seven and eleven, article
thirty-seven, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and
reenacted to read as follows:
§30-37-3. Board established; membership; terms.
There is hereby created the West Virginia massage therapy
licensure board. The board shall consist of five members who
shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of
the Senate. Three members of the board shall be massage
therapists,
chosen from a list of not less than five names submitted by the West Virginia chapter of the American massage
therapy association. O one member of the board shall be an
osteopathic physician or chiropractor who is knowledgeable of
modalities which are included in massage therapy, and one member
of the board shall be a lay person who is not a massage therapist
or other health care professional.
The terms of board members shall be staggered initially
from the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety- seven. The governor shall appoint initially three members for a
term of one year and two members for a term of two years.
Subsequent appointments shall be for a term of two years. Each
member shall serve until that member's successor is appointed and
qualified, unless the board member is no longer competently
performing the duties of office. Any vacancy on the board shall
be filled by the governor for the balance of the unexpired term.
The governor may remove members of the board from office for
cause.
§30-37-5. Massage therapy board fund; fees; expenses;
disposition of funds.
(a) There is hereby established a massage therapy licensure
board fund in the state treasurer's office.
(b) The board may set
by legislative rule reasonable fees
for the issuance or renewal of licenses and its other services.
All funds to cover the compensation and expenses of the board
members shall be generated by the fees set under this subsection.
(c) The disposition of all funds received by the board shall be governed by the provisions of section ten, article one,
chapter thirty of this code.
§30-37-6. Duties of board; authorization to propose rules and
fees.
(a) The board shall be responsible for licensure and
continuing education requirements, standards of practice and
professional ethics, disciplinary actions, and other issues of
concern.
(b) (a) The board shall propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code as are necessary to implement
the provisions of this article,
which shall include provisions
regarding:
(1) Licensure and continuing education requirements,
standards of practice and professional ethics, disciplinary
actions, and other issues of concern;
(c) (2) The board shall adopt reasonable rules regarding
Personal cleanliness of massage therapists and the sanitary
conditions of towels, linens, creams, lotions and other
materials, facilities, and equipment used in the practice of
massage therapy,
and;
(d) (3) All fees for licensure, renewal of licensure, and
all other related matters
shall be set by the board.
§30-37-7. Requirements for licensure.
(a) The board shall propose rules
for legislative approval
establishing a procedure for licensing of massage therapists. License requirements shall include the following:
(1) Completion of a
curriculum program of massage education
at a school approved by
the commission on massage training
accreditational approval or the West Virginia state college
system board
or by a state agency in another state, the District
of Columbia or a United States territory which approves
educational programs and which meets qualifications for the
National Certification Exam administered through the National
Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. This
school shall require a diploma from an accredited high school, or
the equivalent, and require completion of at least five hundred
hours of supervised academic instruction.
This requirement The
requirements of this subdivision may be waived for those
practitioners who were practicing massage therapy prior to the
first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four;
or,
(2) Successful completion of the national certification for
therapeutic massage and body work (NCTMB) examination; except
that any person who is currently practicing massage therapy
and
who completed the American massage therapy association
educational and testing requirements prior to the first day of
December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, as of June 30,
1998, and has completed at least 250 hours of training in a
massage therapy educational program and is currently working
toward completion of a program accepted by the national
Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork to be
eligible to take the National Certification Exam, may be granted a two year provisional license without having successfully
completed the national certification for therapeutic massage and
body work examination. Any such provisional license granted
under this exception shall expire in two years if the national
certification for therapeutic massage and body work examination
is not successfully completed within that time; and
(3) Payment of a reasonable fee
annually every two years
required by the board which shall compensate and be retained by
the board for the costs of administration.
(b) In addition to provisions for licensure, the rules shall
include the following:
(1) Requirements for completion of continuing education
hours conforming to NCTMB guidelines; and
(2) Requirements for issuance of a reciprocal license to
licensees of states with requirements
including which may include
the successful completion of the NCTMB examination.
(c) A massage therapist who is licensed by the board shall
be issued a certificate and a license number. The current, valid
license certificate must be publicly displayed and available for
inspection by the board and the public at a massage therapist's
work site.
§30-37-11. Exemptions.
Nothing in this article may be construed to prohibit or
otherwise limit:
(1) The practice of a profession by persons who are
licensed, certified or registered under the laws of this state and who are performing services within their authorized scope of
practice. Persons exempted under this subdivision include, but
are not limited to, those licensed, certified or registered to
practice within the scope of any branch of medicine, nursing,
osteopathy, chiropractic and podiatry, as well as licensed,
certified or registered barbers, cosmetologists, athletic
trainers, physical and occupational therapists; and any student
of a West Virginia state college system certified or authorized
massage therapy school enrolled in a program of massage education
at a school approved by the West Virginia state college system
board or by a state agency in another state, the District of
Columbia or a United States territory which approves educational
programs and which meets qualifications for the National
Certification Exam administered through the National
Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork,
provided that the student does not hold himself or herself out as
a licensed massage therapist; and
(2) The activities of any resort spa that has been operating
on a continuing basis since the first day of January, one
thousand nine hundred seventy-five, or any employees thereof. The
exemption set forth in this subsection does not extend to any
person, corporation or association providing escort services,
nude dancing, or other sexually oriented services not falling
within the scope of massage therapy as defined in this article,
irrespective of how long the person, corporation or association
has been in operation.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
