Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Professional Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers clear up statute to let mobile massage therapy operate under board rules
Summary
Sen. Ben Hansen’s LB892 fixes a statutory discrepancy that inadvertently limited mobile massage practice; the massage‑therapy association told the committee the change would restore board authority and legal clarity for practitioners who provide in‑home or event services.
Senator Ben Hansen said LB892 is a statutory cleanup that aligns the massage‑therapy statute with existing board rules and the board’s regulatory intent. He said rules had long allowed mobile and event‑based massage but a drafting discrepancy in the 2019 statute created uncertainty over where massage therapy could lawfully be provided.
Brianna Cudley, a Nebraska massage therapist and the American Massage Therapy Association’s state government relations chair, told the committee the discrepancy created confusion and imposed undue costs on practitioners who provide services in homes, at events or as mobile providers. She said the board and DHHS asked AMTA to propose language to fix the issue so about 1,500 practitioners could practice lawfully without extra licensing steps.
Cudley described common mobile uses (house calls for recovering patients, wedding‑party services) and said the intent of the change is to restore a reasonable regulatory framework rather than expand practice without oversight. Committee members agreed the bill appeared to be a narrow cleanup and the sponsor waived the close.
