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Council approves first reading to repeal local massage‑therapy ordinance, cites state regulation preference
Summary
Casper council approved on first reading an ordinance repealing portions of Chapter 8.04 related to businesses affecting public health — a local permitting framework for massage therapists — with city staff saying prior local rules had not produced the intended results and a state‑level regulatory approach is preferable.
The Casper City Council on May 6 approved on first reading an ordinance that would repeal Ordinance 24-30 and amend Chapter 8.04 of the Casper Municipal Code concerning businesses affecting public health, a change driven by years of local engagement with the massage therapy community.
City Manager Jay Carter Napier told the council that several years ago the massage therapist community requested modifications to city code to create a more formal permitting process. "Having gone through that now for several years... the changes that were made back in in, those years, were are not creating the change that we were hoping and, streamlining the process in a way that we were anticipating as well," Carter Napier said. He said the proposed repeal would "restore... what it is that we have been working with historically" and move the city toward relying on regulation at the state level for matters the council believes are more appropriately addressed there.
The public hearing produced no speakers for or against the ordinance. After the city attorney presented exhibits and the council heard the manager's report, the council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance on first reading.
The item will return for the required second and third readings if the council continues to support repeal. Councilors and staff said they expect to work with the massage therapist community and monitor any state regulatory changes that would replace or supplement local procedures.
