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 Back | 145th General Assembly
House Bill # 463 |
| Primary Sponsor: | Kowalko | Additional Sponsor(s): Sen. Hall-Long |
| CoSponsors: | Reps. Atkins, Bennett, Kovach, Lee; Sens. Bonini, Booth, Bushweller, Katz |
| Introduced on : | 06/10/2010 | |
| Long Title: | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MASSAGE AND BODYWORK. |
| Synopsis: | This bill is a result of recommendations made by the Joint Sunset Committee. This bill phases out the two tier licensure structure in Delaware. Currently, the Board of Massage and Bodywork issues licenses to massage and bodywork therapists and certificates to massage technicians. Licensed therapists are required to complete at least 500 hours of education and pass a certification examination. Massage technicians are required to complete 300 hours of education and are not required to take an examination. Delaware is the only state to have this two tier system. The intent of this bill is to ultimately eliminate the massage technician category and require all practitioners to become licensed therapists. The higher educational requirements and the examination requirement will serve to improve practitioner training and competence and thus will benefit the recipients of massage services. Upon enactment, the Board will no longer accept applications for or issue massage technician certificates. However, technicians who maintain current, active certificates will have a three year window of opportunity to upgrade to licensure as therapists. To achieve licensure, massage technicians will be required to successfully complete an examination. No further education will be required.
Pursuant to this bill, three years after enactment, the Board composition will be modified to reflect the elimination of the massage technician category. The Board will consist of four licensed massage and bodywork therapists and three public members.
This bill expands the powers of the Board to include adoption of rules pertaining to advertising and unprofessional conduct by licensees and the adoption of a Client Disclosure Form, to be used by certified massage technicians. The form will require technicians to disclose to the public that they are not licensed therapists.
This bill also amends the requirements for licensure to enable the Board to take into account the applicant's professional disciplinary and criminal history. Further, all applicants will be required to undergo a criminal background check.
This bill expands the grounds for discipline to include unprofessional conduct, which shall be specified further in the Board's rules and regulations. Further, where a licensee is found guilty of a violation of the Board's law or rules, this bill gives the Board the discretion to impose a monetary penalty not to exceed $500 for each violation.
Finally, this bill clarifies and corrects certain statutory language.
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| Current Status: | Vetoed On 08/02/2010 |
| Volume Chapter | : | | |
| Date Governor acted: | 08/02/2010 | | |
Full text of Legislation:
(in HTML format) | Legis.html | Email this Bill to a friend | |
Full text of Legislation:
(in MS Word format) | Legis.Doc (You need Microsoft Word to see this document.) |
| Fiscal Notes/Fee Impact: | Not Required |
| Amendments: |
HA 1 to HB 463 - Passed
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| Committee Reports: |
House Committee Report 06/16/10 F=2 M=1 U=0----> |
| Voting Reports: |
House vote: () Passed 6/23/2010 6:02:13 PM------->
Senate vote: () Passed 6/30/2010 11:22:23 PM-------> |
| Engrossed Version: |
Engrossment-------> |
Actions History:
| Aug 02, 2010 - Vetoed by Governor
Jun 30, 2010 - Passed by Senate. Votes: Passed 20 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 1 ABSENT 0 VACANT
Jun 30, 2010 - Necessary rules are suspended in Senate
Jun 23, 2010 - Passed by House of Representatives. Votes: Passed 37 YES 0 NO 0 NOT VOTING 4 ABSENT 0 VACANT
Jun 23, 2010 - Amendment HA 1 - Passed in House by Voice Vote
Jun 22, 2010 - Amendment HA 1 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
Jun 16, 2010 - Reported Out of Committee (SUNSET COMMITTEE (POLICY ANALYSIS & GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY)) in House with 2 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits
Jun 10, 2010 - Introduced and Assigned to Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability) Committee in House
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