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Committee advances bill to license massage establishments amid privacy and trafficking concerns
Summary
The House Health and Human Services committee voted 5–4 to give SB 246 a due pass; the bill would authorize licensing of massage therapy establishments and allow RLD inspectors to enter facilities, drawing concerns about inspections of active service rooms and calls for statutory privacy minimums and amendments.
The House Health and Human Services committee advanced SB 246, a bill to authorize licensing of massage therapy establishments and give the Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD) authority to inspect those facilities, on a 5–4 due-pass vote.
Sponsor remarks and public testimony framed the measure as both a public-health regulation and a tool to detect unlawful activity. The senator introducing the bill said the measure is intended "to keep the legitimacy of this group together" and to provide "a place you can go and get some pain relief or, physical therapy." Jason Thompson, representing the New Mexico chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association, said his group remained officially neutral but urged the massage therapy board be delegated rulemaking authority so inspection and licensing details are handled by practitioners.
Privacy and inspection procedures were the central points of debate. Several…
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