Two years ago, a law was passed pre-empting locals from licensing and regulating massage therapists. Instead, the state would be responsible to license them. That law passed with immediate effect. The state, though, has not actually been licenseing massage therapists because the rules required to license them have not yet been finalized. Because the state is not licensing them and the locals don’t have the power to do it, no new massage therapists are being licensed and they are out of work in the profession that they are trained to do. So, the Legislature has passed HB 5749 which will again allow the locals to license and regulate massage therapists. Locals will until one year after the certification of administrative rules to implement and administer the law requiring the state to do it instead. HB 5749 was signed into law by the Governor and is now PA 88 of 2010. The law took effect upon being signed by the Governor.
Andy Schor is the Assistant Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League. Contact him at (517) 908-0300 or by email at aschor@mml.org.
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