General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 301
February Session, 2018 *_____SB00301PH____032218____*
General Assembly
Substitute Bill No. 301
February Session, 2018
*_____SB00301PH____032218____*
AN ACT CONCERNING MASSAGE THERAPISTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 20-206b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):
(a) (1) No person shall engage in the practice of massage therapy unless the person has obtained a license from the department pursuant to this section. Each person seeking licensure as a massage therapist shall make application on forms prescribed by the department, pay an application fee of three hundred seventy-five dollars and present to the department satisfactory evidence that the applicant: [(1)] (A) Has graduated from a school of massage therapy offering a course of study of not less than five hundred classroom hours, with the instructor present, that, at the time of the applicant's graduation, had a current school code assigned by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and was either [(A)] (i) accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, or [(B)] (ii) accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, and [(2)] (B) has passed an examination prescribed by the department. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork's national examination for state licensing option shall not satisfy the examination requirements for a person seeking licensure pursuant to this section.
(2) Each person seeking licensure as a massage therapist on and after October 1, 2019, shall (A) notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this section, have graduated from a school of massage therapy offering a course of study of not less than seven hundred fifty classroom hours, with the instructor present, that, at the time of the applicant's graduation, has a current school code assigned by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and was either (i) accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, or (ii) accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, and (B) in addition to the requirement set forth in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, have completed not less than sixty hours of unpaid and supervised clinical or internship experience.
(b) Licenses shall be renewed once every two years in accordance with the provisions of section 19a-88. The fee for renewal shall be two hundred fifty-five dollars. No license shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an unresolved complaint in this or any other state or jurisdiction. Any certificate granted by the department prior to June 1, 1993, shall be deemed a valid license permitting continuance of profession subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the department may issue a license to an applicant whose school of massage therapy does not satisfy the requirement of subparagraph (A) or (B) of subdivision (1) or (2) of said subsection (a), provided the school held, at the time of the applicant's graduation, a certificate issued by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to section 10-7b and provided the applicant graduated within thirty-three months of the date such school first offered the curriculum completed by the applicant. No license shall be issued under this subsection to a graduate of a school that fails to apply for and obtain accreditation by (A) an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, or (B) the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation within thirty-three months of the date such school first offered the curriculum.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section and subdivision (1) of this subsection, the department may issue a license to an applicant who submits evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that the applicant (A) was enrolled, on or before July 1, 2005, in a school of massage therapy that was approved or accredited by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools or a state agency recognized as such state's board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, (B) graduated from a school of massage therapy with a course of study of not less than five hundred classroom hours, with the instructor present, that at the time of the applicant's graduation was approved or accredited by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools or a state agency recognized as such state's board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, and (C) has passed an examination prescribed by the department.
(d) Each person licensed pursuant to this section has an affirmative duty to make a written referral to a licensed healing arts practitioner, as defined in section 20-1, of any client who has any physical or medical condition that would constitute a contraindication for massage therapy or that may require evaluation or treatment beyond the scope of massage therapy.
(e) No person shall use the title "massage therapist", "licensed massage therapist", "massage practitioner", "massagist", "masseur" or "masseuse", unless the person holds a license issued in accordance with this section or other applicable law.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner may issue a license to an out-of-state applicant who submits evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of either: (1) (A) A current license to practice therapeutic massage from another state or jurisdiction, (B) documentation of practice for at least one year immediately preceding application, and (C) successful completion of the examination prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; or (2) (A) (i) on or before October 1, 2019, graduation from a school of massage therapy offering a course of study of not less than five hundred classroom hours, with the instructor present, and, at the time of the applicant's graduation, was either [(i)] (I) accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, or [(ii)] (II) accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, or (ii) on and after October 1, 2019, graduation from a school of massage therapy offering a course of study of not less than seven hundred fifty classroom hours, with the instructor present, and, at the time of the applicant's graduation, was either (I) accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, or (II) accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy, and (B) successful completion of the examination prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(g) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (e) of this section shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
(h) Any employer who knowingly and wilfully employs a person who is in violation of the provisions of subsection (a) or (e) of this section to engage in massage therapy shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
Sec. 2. Subsection (c) of section 20-206d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):
(c) No provision of this chapter shall be construed to prohibit an out-of-state massage therapist who (1) is licensed or certified in another state whose standards for licensure or certification are equivalent to or greater than those required in this state, or (2) if licensure or certification is not required in such other state, is a member in good standing of the American Massage Therapy Association, from providing uncompensated massage therapy services (A) to persons with disabilities during the Special Olympics or similar athletic competitions for persons with disabilities, or (B) at the invitation of the Connecticut chapter of said association, with the emergency division of said chapter's Community Service Massage Team, provided such out-of-state massage therapist [(A)] (i) does not represent himself or herself to be a massage therapist [; (B)] licensed in this state; and (ii) provides massage therapy under the supervision of a massage therapist. [; and (C) only provides massage therapy to persons participating in the Special Olympics or similar athletic competitions for persons with disabilities.]
Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2019) (a) A person licensed to practice massage therapy pursuant to this chapter who provides direct patient care services shall maintain professional liability insurance or other indemnity against liability for professional malpractice. The amount of insurance that each such person shall carry as insurance or indemnity against claims for injury or death for professional malpractice shall not be less than five hundred thousand dollars for one person, per occurrence, with an aggregate of not less than one million dollars.
(b) Each insurance company that issues professional liability insurance, as defined in section 38a-393 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, shall render, on and after January 1, 2019, to the Commissioner of Public Health a true record of the names and addresses, according to the classification, of cancellations of and refusals to renew professional liability insurance policies and the reasons for such cancellations or refusals to renew said policies for the year ending on the thirty-first day of December next preceding.
Sec. 4. Subsection (b) of section 38a-393 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019):
(b) For purposes of sections 38a-393 to 38a-395, inclusive, "professional liability insurance" means professional liability contracts for: (1) Physicians and surgeons, (2) hospitals, (3) lawyers, (4) dentists, (5) architects and engineers, (6) chiropractors, (7) licensed naturopaths, (8) podiatrists, (9) advanced practice registered nurses, [and] (10) physical therapists, and (11) massage therapists and such other categories as the Insurance Commissioner, in the commissioner's discretion, shall adopt by regulations in accordance with chapter 54.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 20-206b
Sec. 2 October 1, 2018 20-206d(c)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 4 October 1, 2019 38a-393(b)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2019
20-206b
Sec. 2
October 1, 2018
20-206d(c)
Sec. 3
October 1, 2019
New section
Sec. 4
October 1, 2019
38a-393(b)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(a), subdivision (2) was added and the changes to Subdiv. (1) were deleted for clarity, and in Section 1(f) Subdiv. (2)(A)(ii) was added and the changes to Subdiv. (2)(A)(i) were deleted for clarity.
PH Joint Favorable Subst.
PH
Joint Favorable Subst.