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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to health care practitioners and 2
massage therapy; amending s. 456.026, F.S.; requiring 3
the Department of Health to report specified data; 4
amending s. 456.074, F.S.; authorizing the department 5
to immediately suspend the license of certain he alth 6
care practitioners and massage establishments in 7
certain circumstances; amending s. 480.033, F.S.; 8
revising and providing definitions; amending s. 9
480.035, F.S.; revising quorum requirements for the 10
Board of Massage Therapy; amending s. 480.043, F.S.; 11
revising certain rules the board is required to adopt; 12
revising the timeframe in which establishment owners 13
must report specified information to the department; 14
prohibiting sexual activity and certain devices in 15
massage establishments; specifying prohibit ed conduct 16
by establishment owners and employees; providing 17
requirements for outside windows and signs in massage 18
establishments; providing exceptions; providing 19
employee dress code requirements; requiring 20
establishments to maintain certain employment reco rds 21
in English or Spanish; requiring that specified 22
information be recorded before an employee may provide 23
services or treatment; requiring massage 24
establishments to conspicuously display a photo and 25
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specified information for each employee; requiring 26
that such photos and information be displayed before 27
an employee may provide services or treatment; 28
providing for such requirements in massage 29
establishments within public lodging establishments; 30
requiring massage establishments to maintain customer 31
and patient records for services and treatment 32
provided in the massage establishment in English or 33
Spanish; providing that medical records satisfy 34
certain requirements; requiring massage establishments 35
to maintain such records for a specified timeframe; 36
requiring massage establishments to collect and record 37
specified information; requiring massage 38
establishments to confirm the identification of a 39
customer or patient before providing services or 40
treatment; amending s. 480.0465, F.S.; revising 41
advertising requirements f or massage therapists and 42
massage establishments; amending s. 480.0475, F.S.; 43
prohibiting establishments from sheltering or 44
harboring, or being used as sleeping quarters for, any 45
person; amending s. 480.0535, F.S.; requiring 46
Department of Health investigat ors to request valid 47
government identification from all employees while in 48
a massage establishment; specifying additional 49
documents a person operating a massage establishment 50
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must immediately present, upon request, to department 51
investigators and law enfor cement officers; requiring 52
the department to notify a federal immigration office 53
if specified persons fail to provide valid government 54
identification; amending s. 823.05, F.S.; conforming a 55
cross-reference; providing an effective date. 56
57
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 58
59
Section 1. Section 456.026, Florida Statutes, is amended 60
to read: 61
456.026 Annual report concerning finances, administrative 62
complaints, disciplinary actions, and recommendations. — 63
(1) The department is di rected to prepare and submit a 64
report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 65
House of Representatives by November 1 of each year. In addition 66
to finances and any other information the Legislature may 67
require, the report shall include statist ics and relevant 68
information, profession by profession, detailing: 69
(a)(1) The revenues, expenditures, and cash balances for 70
the prior year, and a review of the adequacy of existing fees. 71
(b)(2) The number of complaints received and investigated. 72
(c)(3) The number of findings of probable cause made. 73
(d)(4) The number of findings of no probable cause made. 74
(e)(5) The number of administrative complaints filed. 75
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(f)(6) The disposition of all administrative complaints. 76
(g)(7) A description of discip linary actions taken. 77
(h)(8) A description of any effort by the department to 78
reduce or otherwise close any investigation or disciplinary 79
proceeding not before the Division of Administrative Hearings 80
under chapter 120 or otherwise not completed within 1 year after 81
the initial filing of a complaint under this chapter. 82
(i)(9) The status of the development and implementation of 83
rules providing for disciplinary guidelines pursuant to s. 84
456.079. 85
(j)(10) Such recommendations for administrative and 86
statutory changes necessary to facilitate efficient and cost -87
effective operation of the department and the various boards. 88
(2) The report shall separately categorize all complaints, 89
investigations, probable c ause, and disciplinary actions against 90
a massage therapist or massage establishment licensed under 91
chapter 480 related to a violation of: 92
(a) Section 480.043(12). 93
(b) Section 480.043(13). 94
(c) Section 480.043(14)(a)-(f). 95
(d) Section 480.0465. 96
(e) Section 480.0475. 97
(f) Section 480.0485. 98
(g) Section 480.0535. 99
Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 456.074, Florida 100
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Statutes, is amended, and subsection (7) is added to that 101
section, to read: 102
456.074 Certain health care practitioners; immediate 103
suspension of license. — 104
(4) The department shall issue an emergency order 105
suspending the license of a massage therapist and or 106
establishment as those terms are defined in chapter 480 upon 107
receipt of information that the massage therapist ;, the 108
designated establishment manager as defined in chapter 480; an 109
employee of the establishment; a person with an ownership 110
interest in the establishment ;, or, for a corporation that has 111
more than $250,000 of business assets in this state, the owner, 112
officer, or individual directly involved in the management of 113
the establishment has been arrested for committing or 114
attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit, or convicted or 115
found guilty of, or has entered a plea of guilty or nolo 116
contendere to, regardless of adjudica tion, a violation of s. 117
796.07 s. 796.07(2)(a) which is reclassified under s. 796.07(7) 118
or a felony offense under any of the following provisions of 119
state law or a similar provision in another jurisdiction: 120
(a) Section 787.01, relating to kidnapping. 121
(b) Section 787.02, relating to false imprisonment. 122
(c) Section 787.025, relating to luring or enticing a 123
child. 124
(d) Section 787.06, relating to human trafficking. 125
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(e) Section 787.07, relating to human smuggling. 126
(f) Section 794.011, relating to sex ual battery. 127
(g) Section 794.08, relating to female genital mutilation. 128
(h) Former s. 796.03, relating to procuring a person under 129
the age of 18 for prostitution. 130
(i) Former s. 796.035, relating to the selling or buying 131
of minors into prostitution. 132
(j) Section 796.04, relating to forcing, compelling, or 133
coercing another to become a prostitute. 134
(k) Section 796.05, relating to deriving support from the 135
proceeds of prostitution. 136
(l) Section 796.07(4)(a)3., relating to a felony of the 137
third degree for a third or subsequent violation of s. 796.07, 138
relating to prohibiting prostitution and related acts. 139
(m) Section 800.04, relating to lewd or lascivious 140
offenses committed upon or in the presence of persons less than 141
16 years of age. 142
(n) Section 825.1025(2)(b), relating to lewd or lascivious 143
offenses committed upon or in the presence of an elderly or 144
disabled person. 145
(o) Section 827.071, relating to sexual performance by a 146
child. 147
(p) Section 847.0133, relating to the protection of 148
minors. 149
(q) Section 847.0135, relating to computer pornography. 150
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(r) Section 847.0138, relating to the transmission of 151
material harmful to minors to a minor by electronic device or 152
equipment. 153
(s) Section 847.0145, relating to the selling or buying of 154
minors. 155
(7) The department shall issue an emergency order 156
suspending the license of any licensee upon a finding of the 157
State Surgeon General that probable cause exists to believe that 158
the licensee has committed sexual misconduct as defined and 159
prohibited in s. 456.063 (1), or the applicable practice act, and 160
that such violation constitutes an immediate danger to the 161
public. 162
Section 3. Subsections (1) through (6) of section 480.033, 163
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) through (7), 164
respectively, subsec tions (7) through (12), are renumbered as 165
subsections (9) through (14), respectively, present subsection 166
(6) is amended, and new subsections (1), (8), and (15) are added 167
to that section, to read: 168
480.033 Definitions. —As used in this act: 169
(1) "Advertising medium" means any newspaper; airwave or 170
computer transmission; telephone directory listing, other than 171
an in-column listing consisting only of a name, physical 172
address, and telephone number; business card; handbill; flyer; 173
sign, other than a building di rectory listing all building 174
tenants and their room or suite numbers; or any other form of 175
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written or electronic advertisement. 176
(7)(6) "Designated establishment manager" means a massage 177
therapist who holds a clear and active license without 178
restriction; a health care practitioner licensed under chapter 179
457; or a physician licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or 180
chapter 460, who is responsible for the operation of a massage 181
establishment in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, 182
and who is designated the manager by the rules or practices at 183
the establishment. 184
(8) "Employee" means any person, including, but not 185
limited to, independent contractors or lessees of a massage 186
establishment, whose duties involve any aspect or capacity of 187
the massage establishment, including, but not limited to, 188
preparing meals and cleaning regardless of whether such person 189
is compensated for the performance of such duties. The term does 190
not include a person who is exclusively engaged in the repair or 191
maintenance of the massage establishment or the delivery of 192
goods to the establishment. 193
(15) "Sexual activity" means any direct or indirect 194
contact by any employee or person, or between any employees or 195
persons, with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, 196
or arouse, or gratify the sexual desire of, any employee or 197
person, or which is likely to cause such abuse, humiliation, 198
harassment, degradation, or arousal, or sexual gratification: 199
(a) With or without the consent of the employee or person. 200
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(b) With or without verbal or nonverbal communication that 201
the sexual activity is undesired. 202
(c) With or without the use of any device or object. 203
(d) With or without the occurrence of penetration, orgasm, 204
or ejaculation. 205
(e) Including, but not limited to, intention al contact 206
with the genitalia, groin, femoral triangle, anus, buttocks, 207
gluteal cleft, breast or nipples, mouth, or tongue. 208
(f) Including, but not limited to, the intentional removal 209
of any drape without specific written informed consent of the 210
patient. 211
Section 4. Subsection (5) of section 480.035, Florida 212
Statutes, is amended to read: 213
480.035 Board of Massage Therapy. — 214
(5) The board shall hold such meetings during the year as 215
it may determine to be necessary, one of which shall be the 216
annual meeting. The chair of the board shall have the authority 217
to call other meetings at her or his discretion. A quorum of the 218
board shall consist of not less than a majority of the current 219
membership of the board four members. 220
Section 5. Subsection (14) of sec tion 480.043, Florida 221
Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (15), subsection (3) and 222
present subsection (14) are amended, and a new subsection (14) 223
is added to that section, to read: 224
480.043 Massage establishments; requisites; licensure; 225
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inspection; human trafficking awareness training and policies. — 226
(3) The board shall adopt rules governing the operation of 227
massage establishments and their facilities, employees 228
personnel, safety and sanitary requirements, financial 229
responsibility, insurance coverage, a nd the license application 230
and granting process. 231
(14) In order to provide the department and law 232
enforcement agencies the means to more effectively identify 233
persons engaging in human trafficking at massage establishments, 234
the following apply: 235
(a) Sexual activity in a massage establishment is 236
prohibited. An establishment owner or employee may not engage in 237
or allow any person to engage in sexual activity in the 238
establishment or use the establishment to make arrangements to 239
engage in sexual activity in an other location. Used or unused 240
condoms are prohibited in a massage establishment. 241
(b) If there is an outside window or windows into the 242
massage establishment's reception area, the outside window or 243
windows must allow for at least 35 percent light penetra tion and 244
no more than 50 percent of the outside window or windows may be 245
obstructed with signage, blinds, curtains, or other 246
obstructions, allowing the public to see the establishment's 247
reception area. A sign must be posted on the front window of the 248
establishment that includes the name and license number of the 249
massage establishment and the telephone number that has been 250
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provided to the department as part of licensure of the 251
establishment. This paragraph does not apply to: 252
1. A massage establishment with in a public lodging 253
establishment as defined in s. 509.013(4). 254
2. A massage establishment located within a county or 255
municipality that has an ordinance that prescribes requirements 256
related to business window light penetration or signage 257
limitations if compliance with this paragraph would result in 258
noncompliance with such ordinance. 259
(c) All employees within the massage establishment must be 260
fully clothed and such clothing must be fully opaque and made of 261
nontransparent material that does not expose the e mployee's 262
genitalia. This requirement does not apply to an employee, 263
excluding a massage therapist, of a public lodging 264
establishment, as defined in s. 509.013(4), that is licensed as 265
a clothing-optional establishment and chartered with the 266
American Association for Nude Recreation. 267
(d) A massage establishment must maintain a complete set 268
of legible records in English or Spanish, which must include 269
each employee's start date of employment, full legal name, date 270
of birth, home address, telephone number, and employment 271
position and a copy of the employee's government identification 272
required under s. 480.0535. All information required under this 273
paragraph must be recorded before the employee may provide any 274
service or treatment to a client or patient. 275
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(e) A massage establishment must conspicuously display a 2 276
inch by 2 inch photo for each employee, which, for massage 277
therapists, must be attached to the massage therapist's license. 278
Such display must also include the employee's full legal name 279
and employment position. All information required under this 280
paragraph must be displayed before the employee may provide any 281
service or treatment to a client or patient. A massage 282
establishment within a public lodging establishment as defined 283
in s. 509.013(4) may satisfy t his requirement by displaying the 284
photos and required information in an employee break room or 285
other room that is used by employees, but is not used by clients 286
or patients. 287
(f) A massage establishment must maintain a complete set 288
of legible records in English or Spanish, which must include the 289
date, time, and type of service or treatment provided; the full 290
legal name of the employee who provided the service or 291
treatment; and the full legal name, home address, and telephone 292
number of the client or patient. Medical records may satisfy 293
this requirement if the records include the specified 294
information. A copy of the client's or patient's photo 295
identification may be used to provid e the full legal name and 296
home address of the client or patient. Records required under 297
this paragraph must be maintained for at least 1 year after a 298
service or treatment is provided. All information required under 299
this paragraph must be collected and reco rded before any service 300
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or treatment is provided to a client or patient. The 301
establishment must confirm the identification of the client or 302
patient before any service or treatment is provided to the 303
client or patient. 304
(15)(14) Except for the requirements of subsection (13), 305
this section does not apply to a practitioner physician licensed 306
under chapter 457 or a physician licensed under , chapter 458, 307
chapter 459, or chapter 460 who employs a licensed massage 308
therapist to perform massage therapy on the practitioner's or 309
physician's patients at her or his the physician's place of 310
practice. This subsection does not restrict investigations by 311
the department for violations of chapter 456 or this chapter. 312
Section 6. Section 480.0465, Florida Statutes, is amended 313
to read: 314
480.0465 Advertisement ; prohibitions.— 315
(1) Each massage therapist or massage establishment 316
licensed under this act shall include the number of the license 317
in any advertisement of massage therapy services appearing in 318
any advertising medium, including, but not limited to, a 319
newspaper, airwave transmission, telephone directory, Internet, 320
or other advertising medium. The advertisement must also include 321
the physical address of the massage establishment and the 322
telephone number that has been provided to the department as 323
part of the licensing of the establishment. However, the 324
inclusion of the physical address and telephone number is not 325
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required for an advertisement by a massage establishment whose 326
establishment owner operates more than five locations in this 327
state. 328
(2) A massage therapist, an establishment owner, an 329
employee, or any third party directed by the establishment owner 330
or employee, may not place, publish, or distribute, or cause to 331
be placed, published, or distributed, any adver tisement in any 332
advertising medium which states prostitution services, escort 333
services, or sexual services are available. 334
(3) A massage therapist, an establishment owner, an 335
employee, or any third party directed by the massage therapist, 336
establishment owner, or employee may not place, publish, or 337
distribute, or cause to be placed, published, or distributed, 338
any online advertisement on any website known for advertising 339
prostitution services, escort services, or sexual services. 340
Pending licensure of a new m assage establishment under s. 341
480.043(7), the license number of a licensed massage therapist 342
who is an owner or principal officer of the establishment may be 343
used in lieu of the license number for the establishment. 344
Section 7. Subsection (2) of section 480.0475, Florida 345
Statutes, is amended to read: 346
480.0475 Massage establishments; prohibited practices. — 347
(2) A person operating a massage establishment may not use 348
or permit the establishment to be used as a principal or 349
temporary domicile for, to shelter or harbor, or as sleeping or 350
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napping quarters for any person unless the establishment is 351
zoned for residential use under a local ordinance. 352
Section 8. Section 480.0535, Florida Statutes, is amended 353
to read: 354
480.0535 Documents required while worki ng in a massage 355
establishment; penalties; reporting .— 356
(1) In order to provide the department and law enforcement 357
agencies the means to more effectively identify, investigate, 358
and arrest persons engaging in human trafficking, an employee a 359
person employed by a massage establishment and any person 360
performing massage therapy in a massage establishment therein 361
must immediately present, upon the request of an investigator of 362
the department or a law enforcement officer, valid government 363
identification while in the establishment. An investigator of 364
the department must request valid government identification from 365
all employees while in the establishment. A valid government 366
identification for the purposes of this section is: 367
(a) A valid, unexpired driver license issued by any state, 368
territory, or district of the United States; 369
(b) A valid, unexpired identification card issued by any 370
state, territory, or district of the United States; 371
(c) A valid, unexpired United States passport; 372
(d) A naturalization certifi cate issued by the United 373
States Department of Homeland Security; 374
(e) A valid, unexpired alien registration receipt card 375
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(green card); or 376
(f) A valid, unexpired employment authorization card 377
issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 378
(2) A person operating a massage establishment must: 379
(a) Immediately present, upon the request of an 380
investigator of the department or a law enforcement officer: 381
1. Valid government identification while in the 382
establishment. 383
2. A copy of the docume ntation specified in paragraph 384
(1)(a) for each employee and any person performing massage 385
therapy in the establishment. 386
3. A copy of the documents required under s. 387
480.043(14)(d) and (f). 388
(b) Ensure that each employee and any person performing 389
massage therapy in the massage establishment is able to 390
immediately present, upon the request of an investigator of the 391
department or a law enforcement officer, valid government 392
identification while in the establishment. 393
(3) A person who violates any provision of this section 394
commits: 395
(a) For a first violation, a misdemeanor of the second 396
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 397
(b) For a second violation, a misdemeanor of the first 398
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.08 3. 399
(c) For a third or subsequent violation, a felony of the 400
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third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, 401
or s. 775.084. 402
(4) The department shall notify a federal immigration 403
office if a person operating a massage establishment, an 404
employee, or any person performing massage therapy in a massage 405
establishment fails to provide valid government identification 406
as required under this section. 407
Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 823.05, Florida 408
Statutes, is amended to read: 409
823.05 Places and groups engaged in certain activities 410
declared a nuisance; abatement and enjoinment. — 411
(3) A massage establishment as defined in s. 480.033 which 412
operates in violation of s. 480.043(14)(a) or (f), s. 480.0475, 413
or s. 480.0535(2) is declared a nuis ance and may be abated or 414
enjoined as provided in ss. 60.05 and 60.06. 415
Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 416