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Committee advances bill requiring photos on massage therapy licenses; supporters cite consumer safety
Summary
House Bill 555, requiring photos on massage therapist licenses, received committee support. Proponents, including disability advocates and state regulatory staff, said photos help consumers verify identity and help combat illicit "pop-up" massage businesses.
The House Health and Human Services Committee recommended House Bill 555 after testimony that adding a photo to massage therapist licenses would improve consumer safety and help enforcement identify individuals working in establishments.
Kevin Graham, chief general counsel for the Regulation and Licensing Department, told the committee the department supports House Bill 555 and that an agency Senate bill would go further by adding photos and licensing for establishments.
Karen Kushner, a patient advocate speaking by Zoom, said she supported including photos because the requirement can be important for people with disabilities and helps consumers confirm that the licensed person is the person doing the service. Committee members referenced concerns about pop-up massage parlors and human-trafficking risks; sponsors said the photo requirement had been proposed by the massage therapist professional group to address those problems.
Committee members asked questions about the bill's intent and scope; a motion and second were recorded and no opposition was voiced in the hearing excerpt. The committee advanced the bill.
