Committee advances amended House Bill 1469 to add rulemaking, law-enforcement notification and longer board terms

The Legislative Administration committee voted in executive session to advance House Bill 1469 with a committee amendment that adds explicit rulemaking authority, a law-enforcement notification procedure and a change to board member terms.

The sponsor explained that amendment 1836S inserts the words "pursuant to 541A" to authorize the rulemaking needed to regulate massage establishments and corrects drafting oversights. The amendment also adds a duty to rulemaking language "to add procedures for notifying law enforcement of suspected unlawful activity," and the sponsor said the committee decided to replace the draft word "illicit" with "unlawful." "We felt that unlawful was a better word than elicit," the sponsor said.

The amendment further changes term limits so board members would serve three terms rather than two. The sponsor told the committee the changes respond to testimony and aim to strike a balance between curbing unlawful activity and protecting legitimate businesses. "I'm always concerned about the regulations that we put on our legitimate businesses and I I think we are we've done a good job of trying to make sure that that is those businesses are protected," the sponsor said, describing the window certificate and notification procedure as safeguards.

Committee members expressed lingering concern about whether the bill will fully stop unlawful activity, but several said the amendments were a step forward. The committee adopted amendment 1836S and approved House Bill 1469 as amended by unanimous consent during the executive session.