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Senate panel hears bill to join massage-therapy interstate compact
Summary
A Montana Senate committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 233 to join the Massage Therapy Interstate Compact, with proponents saying the compact eases licensing for military spouses and seasonal workers and opponents raising no testimony; agency witnesses said Montana would retain licensing sovereignty and the compact requires fingerprint checks.
HELENA — The Montana Senate Business and Labor Committee on Wednesday heard testimony on Senate Bill 233, a measure that would allow Montana to join the Massage Therapy Interstate Compact and permit qualified massage therapists licensed elsewhere in compact states to practice in Montana under a multistate license.
Proponents said the compact would speed hiring for spas and other seasonal employers and help military spouses who move between states. "The compact allows me to practice in that compact state," said Deborah Kimmet, who identified herself as representing the Business League for Massage Therapy and Bodywork. She said the compact will not supersede state law: "When someone comes to Montana, they have to follow our laws here, too."
The compact's language largely follows a model drafted by the Council of State Governments and the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, witnesses said, and includes criminal background checks and a licensing database to report discipline across states. "We support it specifically because ... it does include in this bill the required criminal background check to participate in the multistate compact," said Sarah Swanson, commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry.
Grant Minnick, a policy analyst at the Council of State Governments, described the compact as similar in structure to the nurse licensure compact and said it provides two-way reciprocity, allowing Montanans to practice in other compact states if Montana joins. He listed other states that have introduced related legislation, including Illinois, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Connecticut, New York and Maine; Nevada and Ohio had already enacted it, he said.
Committee members asked technical questions about how the compact fits with Montana's existing statute on substantial equivalency, and Kevin Bragg, bureau chief for professional licensing at the Department of Labor and Industry, said compacts are another pathway for licensing alongside examination and endorsement.
Sponsor Senator Willis Curdy, R-Missoula, said the compact would not force Montana to change its state licensing standards and that Montana would retain authority to discipline licensees. Curdy asked the committee for a "do pass" recommendation.
The hearing produced no formal vote. Witnesses and proponents said the compact becomes effective only after a threshold number of states enact matching legislation; the compact is contingent on enactment by a specified number of member states before Montana would be bound by its provisions.
The committee left the matter open for possible amendment; proponents said some stakeholder groups are negotiating technical language and that an amendment to integrate fingerprinting provisions had been drafted for consideration in February.
No opponents spoke at the hearing. The committee did not take final action on Senate Bill 233 during the session recorded in the transcript.
