By: Gary Petitjean, LMT

The 360th General Business Meeting of the Board of Massage Therapy was held on April 29 – 30, 2010 at the Tampa Airport Marriott in Tampa, Florida. Board members present included Karen Ford, LMT, Chair; Bridget Burke-Wammack, LMT, Vice Chair; Robert Smallwood, LMT; Lydia Nixon, LMT; Amy Hagen, LMT; Consumer Member Lisa Oliver; and Consumer Member William Stoehs. Board staff included Kaye Howerton, Executive Director, Paula Mask, Program Operations Administrator and Brandy Boehm, Regulatory Specialist. Timothy Dennis, Esquire served as Board Counsel. Sam DeConcilio served as the Department’s Prosecuting Attorney.

Changes to Board Members and Staff
The Board welcomed three new members: Lydia Nixon, LMT; Amy Hagen, LMT and Consumer Member Lisa Oliver. These new Board members replaced Lynda Solien-Wolfe, LMT; Lorena Haynes, LMT and Consumer Member Irene Andriole. Kaye Howerton, Executive Director announced her retirement at this meeting and will not return. Board Counsel Allison Dudley, Esquire has been replaced by Timothy Dennis, Esquire.

Legislative Issues
A number of bills were of concern this legislative session. Although none of the massage-related concerns became law they could resurface in next year’s legislative session. A description of the relevant bills follows…

• SB 966 and HB 633 Human Trafficking
  Both of these Bills focused on human trafficking in the world of massage therapy. These Bills sought to protect both the public and the victims of human trafficking.  The Bills were an attempt to protect persons (typically illegal aliens or resident aliens lacking work permits) from labor exploitation or prostitution while working in the field of massage therapy. The legislation would have also protected the public from these massage therapists who are often unlicensed and/or engaging in sexual misconduct. SB 966 died in Committee. HB 633 passed by the House; died in the Senate in Messages.
• SB 752 Health Care
  This Bill sought to amend Florida Statute 456.0635 which disallows licensure for persons having certain felony convictions or a corresponding probationary period or sentence that occurred during the previous 15 years. The Bill sought to reduce that time to 10 years. The Bill died in the House in Messages.
• HB 139 Massage Therapy
  This Bill sought to allow licensure without a licensure exam for graduates of a Board-approved massage school whose accreditation is recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Bill died in Committee but the issue reappeared as an amendment to a number of Bills finally ending with HB 1143.
• HB 1143 Health Care
  An amendment to HB 1143 sought to allow a temporary working permit for graduates of a Board-approved massage school whose accreditation is recognized by the United States Department of Education. The permit would have allowed the graduate to work for a time period up to six months or until the graduate failed the licensure exam. Ultimately this amendment to HB 1143 was withdrawn.

64B7-32.003 Minimum Requirements for Board Approved Massage Schools
In October of 2009 the Board voted to approve changing the breakdown of the minimum, 500 hours a school program must have in order to be approved by the Board. At the April 2010 meeting Board Counsel advised the Board that those changes became effective on April 25, 2010. The Board expressed concern that this effective date could have been the result of a procedural error. Board Counsel is researching Board actions taken at previous meetings and will advise the Board regarding the Rule. It appears as though this effective date could ultimately be modified but at the present time the Rule change is in effect.

Shown below are the minimum hours a school program must have, effective April 25, 2010.

150   Anatomy and Physiology
100   Basic Massage Theory and History
125   Clinical Practicum
76     Allied Modalities
15     Business
15     Theory and Practice of Hydrotherapy
10     Florida Laws and Rules
           (Statutes 456, 480 and Rule Chapter 64B7)
 4      Professional Ethics
 3      HIV/AIDS
 2      Medical Errors

Rule 64B7-31 Colonic Irrigation
At recent meetings the Board worked to change the words “colonic irrigation” to “colon hydrotherapy” wherever they appeared in the Rules. This was in conflict with Chapter 480. At this meeting the Board voted to return the language in the Rules to its original form. An effort will be made during next year’s legislative session to amend Chapter 480 so the words “colon hydrotherapy” can replace “colon irrigation” in both the Laws and Rules.

Save Fifty Dollars
Although the change is not in effect yet, the Board announced that they are in the process of reducing fees. The following Rules have been amended: 64B7-27.006 Biennial Renewal Fee for Massage Therapists, 64B7-27.008 Initial Fee for Licensure and 64B7-27.010 Renewal Fee for Inactive License. The fee for each is being reduced from $150.00 to $100.00.

Spanish Exam
Effective May 30, 2010, a licensure exam in the Spanish language will be permissible as a Board approved licensure exam.

Rules Workshop / Telephone Conference
In addition to the regular Board meeting scheduled for July 29 & 30 there will be a Rule Development Workshop on July 28 and a Conference Call on June 18.

Sexual Misconduct & CE Providers
While processing a sexual misconduct case involving a massage therapist, Board members noticed that the therapist claimed to be a CE provider. They requested an investigation to determine if the therapist is in fact a CE provider and if so they felt the CE provider status should be revoked. They felt that any massage therapist disciplined for sexual misconduct should not be a CE provider.

Gary Petitjean has been a Florida LMT since 1988, a teacher since 1995 and has experience with massage school program development and management. Florida Laws and Rules is one of the courses Gary teaches. Email: GaryPetitjean [at] hotmail [dot] com.

To read previous “Board Beat” articles, please visit the Board Beat Archive here: http://fsmta.org/licensure/board-beat-archive/