Recent News and Legislative Updates

Two new regulations are being considered in Kentucky that would impose a new background check requirement for massage therapy licensees and license applicants. KY 21521 would require all license…

Rhode Island’s existing massage therapy statute does not expressly prevent towns and cities from enacting their own local licensing or other regulation of massage therapists and massage therapy businesses. A new bill, HB 7007…

Kansas SB 40 and HB 2123, which we have discussed in previous updates, carried over into the current legislative session. The bills would create a system of mandatory…

South Dakota HB 1027, introduced this legislative session, would make several changes to South Dakota’s massage law if passed. ABMP submitted public comments during the bill’s…

SB 568, a bill introduced in Wisconsin, and its companion bill AB 726, is an attempt by some to reduce “red tape” in regulatory affairs. The bill would…

The Beauty Changes Lives (BCL) Foundation is accepting applications through March 28, 2016 for the 2016 BCL-Massage Envy Scholarship Competition. Six students enrolled in a massage therapy education program at a qualified school will receive a $1,500 tuition scholarship toward their…

HB 562, introduced in the Virginia legislature…

Two bills recently introduced in the Washington State Legislature would open a pathway for applicants who attended certain massage schools that are not approved by the Washington Massage Board, including out-of-state schools, to obtain a Washington state massage license. Under the bills,…

Green Spa Network, a not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting sustainability in and through the spa and wellness industry, announced that its 9^th Annual Green Spa Network (GSN) Congress will be held at Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort and Spa in the majestic Colorado Rocky…

In a randomized controlled trial, 15-minute daily back massages for one week performed on 44 family caregivers of patients with cancer resulted in improved blood pressure, cortisol level, heart rate, sleep quality, and state anxiety in the caregivers.

The study concluded that oncology…