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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 health 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 depa rtment; 14
prohibiting sexual activity and certain devices in 15
massage establishments; specifying prohibited conduct 16
by establishment owners and employees; providing 17
requirements for outside windows and signs in massage 18
establishments; providing exceptions; pr oviding 19
employee dress code requirements; requiring 20
establishments to maintain certain employment records 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 b efore providing services or 40
treatment; amending s. 480.0465, F.S.; revising 41
advertising requirements for massage therapists and 42
massage establishments; amending s. 480.0475, F.S.; 43
prohibiting establishments from sheltering or 44
harboring, or being used as sl eeping quarters for, any 45
person; amending s. 480.0535, F.S.; requiring 46
Department of Health investigators to request valid 47
government identification from all employees while in 48
a massage establishment; specifying additional 49
documents a person operating a m assage establishment 50
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must immediately present, upon request, to department 51
investigators and law enforcement 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 appropriation; providing 56
an effective date. 57
58
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 59
60
Section 1. Section 456.026, Florida Statutes, is amended 61
to read: 62
456.026 Annual report concerning finances, administrative 63
complaints, disciplinary actions, and recommendations. — 64
(1) The department is directed to prepare and submit a 65
report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 66
House of Representatives by Novemb er 1 of each year. In addition 67
to finances and any other information the Legislature may 68
require, the report shall include statistics and relevant 69
information, profession by profession, detailing: 70
(a)(1) The revenues, expenditures, and cash balances for 71
the prior year, and a review of the adequacy of existing fees. 72
(b)(2) The number of complaints received and investigated. 73
(c)(3) The number of findings of probable cause made. 74
(d)(4) The number of findings of no probable cause made. 75
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(e)(5) The number of administrative complaints filed. 76
(f)(6) The disposition of all administrative complaints. 77
(g)(7) A description of disciplinary actions taken. 78
(h)(8) A description of any effort by the department to 79
reduce or otherwise close any investigation or disciplinary 80
proceeding not before the Division of Administrative Hearings 81
under chapter 120 or otherwise not completed within 1 year after 82
the initial filing of a complaint under this chapter. 83
(i)(9) The status of the development and implementation of 84
rules providing for disciplinary guidelines pursuant to s. 85
456.079. 86
(j)(10) Such recommendations for administrative and 87
statutory changes necessary to facilitate efficient and cost -88
effective operation of the department and the various boards. 89
(2) The report shall separately categorize all complaints, 90
investigations, probable cause, and disciplinary actions against 91
a massage therapist or massage establishment licensed under 92
chapter 480 related to a violation of: 93
(a) Section 480.043(12). 94
(b) Section 480.043(13). 95
(c) Section 480.043(14)(a) -(f). 96
(d) Section 480.0465. 97
(e) Section 480.0475. 98
(f) Section 480.0485. 99
(g) Section 480.0535. 100
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Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 456.074, Florida 101
Statutes, is amended, and subsection (7) is ad ded to that 102
section, to read: 103
456.074 Certain health care practitioners; immediate 104
suspension of license. — 105
(4) The department shall issue an emergency order 106
suspending the license of a massage therapist and or 107
establishment as those terms are defined in chapter 480 upon 108
receipt of information that the massage therapist ;, the 109
designated establishment manager as defined in chapter 480; an 110
employee of the establishment; a person with an ownership 111
interest in the establishment ;, or, for a corporation that h as 112
more than $250,000 of business assets in this state, the owner, 113
officer, or individual directly involved in the management of 114
the establishment has been arrested for committing or 115
attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit, or convicted or 116
found guilty of, or has entered a plea of guilty or nolo 117
contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a violation of s. 118
796.07 s. 796.07(2)(a) which is reclassified under s. 796.07(7) 119
or a felony offense under any of the following provisions of 120
state law or a simila r provision in another jurisdiction: 121
(a) Section 787.01, relating to kidnapping. 122
(b) Section 787.02, relating to false imprisonment. 123
(c) Section 787.025, relating to luring or enticing a 124
child. 125
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(d) Section 787.06, relating to human trafficking. 126
(e) Section 787.07, relating to human smuggling. 127
(f) Section 794.011, relating to sexual battery. 128
(g) Section 794.08, relating to female genital mutilation. 129
(h) Former s. 796.03, relating to procuring a person under 130
the age of 18 for prostitution. 131
(i) Former s. 796.035, relating to the selling or buying 132
of minors into prostitution. 133
(j) Section 796.04, relating to forcing, compelling, or 134
coercing another to become a prostitute. 135
(k) Section 796.05, relating to deriving support from the 136
proceeds of prostitution. 137
(l) Section 796.07(4)(a)3., relating to a felony of the 138
third degree for a third or subsequent violation of s. 796.07, 139
relating to prohibiting prostitution and related acts. 140
(m) Section 800.04, relating to lewd or lascivious 141
offenses committed upon or in the presence of persons less than 142
16 years of age. 143
(n) Section 825.1025(2)(b), relating to lewd or lascivious 144
offenses committed upon or in the presence of an elderly or 145
disabled person. 146
(o) Section 827.071, relating to sexual performa nce by a 147
child. 148
(p) Section 847.0133, relating to the protection of 149
minors. 150
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(q) Section 847.0135, relating to computer pornography. 151
(r) Section 847.0138, relating to the transmission of 152
material harmful to minors to a minor by electronic device or 153
equipment. 154
(s) Section 847.0145, relating to the selling or buying of 155
minors. 156
(7) The department shall issue an emergency order 157
suspending the license of any licensee upon a finding of the 158
State Surgeon General that probable cause exists to believe tha t 159
the licensee has committed sexual misconduct as defined and 160
prohibited in s. 456.063(1), or the applicable practice act, and 161
that such violation constitutes an immediate danger to the 162
public. 163
Section 3. Subsections (1) through (6) of section 480.033, 164
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (2) through (7), 165
respectively, subsections (7) through (12), are renumbered as 166
subsections (9) through (14), respectively, present subsection 167
(6) is amended, and new subsections (1), (8), and (15) are added 168
to that section, to read: 169
480.033 Definitions. —As used in this act: 170
(1) "Advertising medium" means any newspaper; airwave or 171
computer transmission; telephone directory listing, other than 172
an in-column listing consisting only of a name, physical 173
address, and telephone number; business card; handbill; flyer; 174
sign, other than a building directory listing all building 175
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tenants and their room or suite numbers; or any other form of 176
written or electronic advertisement. 177
(7)(6) "Designated establishment manager" means a massage 178
therapist who holds a clear and active license without 179
restriction; a health care practitioner licensed under chapter 180
457; or a physician licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or 181
chapter 460, who is responsible for the operation of a massage 182
establishment in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, 183
and who is designated the manager by the rules or practices at 184
the establishment. 185
(8) "Employee" means any person, including, but not 186
limited to, independent contractors or lessees of a massage 187
establishment, whose duties involve any aspect or capacity of 188
the massage establishment, including, but not limited to, 189
preparing meals and cleaning regardless of whether such person 190
is compensated for the per formance of such duties. The term does 191
not include a person who is exclusively engaged in the repair or 192
maintenance of the massage establishment or the delivery of 193
goods to the establishment. 194
(15) "Sexual activity" means any direct or indirect 195
contact by any employee or person, or between any employees or 196
persons, with the intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, 197
or arouse, or gratify the sexual desire of, any employee or 198
person, or which is likely to cause such abuse, humiliation, 199
harassment, degradation, or arousal, or sexual gratification: 200
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(a) With or without the consent of the employee or person. 201
(b) With or without verbal or nonverbal communication that 202
the sexual activity is undesired. 203
(c) With or without the use of any device or object. 204
(d) With or without the occurrence of penetration, orgasm, 205
or ejaculation. 206
(e) Including, but not limited to, intentional contact 207
with the genitalia, groin, femoral triangle, anus, buttocks, 208
gluteal cleft, breast or nipples, mouth, or tongue. 209
(f) Including, but not limited to, the intentional removal 210
of any drape without specific written informed consent of the 211
patient. 212
Section 4. Subsection (5) of section 480.035, Florida 213
Statutes, is amended to read: 214
480.035 Board of Massage Therapy. — 215
(5) The board shall hold such meetings during the year as 216
it may determine to be necessary, one of which shall be the 217
annual meeting. The chair of the board shall have the authority 218
to call other meetings at her or his discretion. A quorum of the 219
board shall consist of not less than a majority of the current 220
membership of the board four members. 221
Section 5. Subsection (14) of section 480.043, Florida 222
Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (15), subsection (3) and 223
present subsection (14) are amended, and a new sub section (14) 224
is added to that section, to read: 225
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480.043 Massage establishments; requisites; licensure; 226
inspection; human trafficking awareness training and policies. — 227
(3) The board shall adopt rules governing the operation of 228
massage establishments and their facilities, employees 229
personnel, safety and sanitary requirements, financial 230
responsibility, insurance coverage, and the license application 231
and granting process. 232
(14) In order to provide the department and law 233
enforcement agencies the means to mo re effectively identify 234
persons engaging in human trafficking at massage establishments, 235
the following apply: 236
(a) Sexual activity in a massage establishment is 237
prohibited. An establishment owner or employee may not engage in 238
or allow any person to engage in sexual activity in the 239
establishment or use the establishment to make arrangements to 240
engage in sexual activity in another location. Used or unused 241
condoms are prohibited in a massage establishment. 242
(b) If there is an outside window or windows into t he 243
massage establishment's reception area, the outside window or 244
windows must allow for at least 35 percent light penetration and 245
no more than 50 percent of the outside window or windows may be 246
obstructed with signage, blinds, curtains, or other 247
obstructions, allowing the public to see the establishment's 248
reception area. A sign must be posted on the front window of the 249
establishment that includes the name and license number of the 250
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massage establishment and the telephone number that has been 251
provided to the department as part of licensure of the 252
establishment. This paragraph does not apply to: 253
1. A massage establishment within a public lodging 254
establishment as defined in s. 509.013(4). 255
2. A massage establishment located within a county or 256
municipality that has an ordinance that prescribes requirements 257
related to business window light penetration or signage 258
limitations if compliance with this paragraph would result in 259
noncompliance with such ordinance. 260
(c) All employees within the massage establishment mu st be 261
fully clothed and such clothing must be fully opaque and made of 262
nontransparent material that does not expose the employee's 263
genitalia. This requirement does not apply to an employee, 264
excluding a massage therapist, of a public lodging 265
establishment, as defined in s. 509.013(4), that is licensed as 266
a clothing-optional establishment and chartered with the 267
American Association for Nude Recreation. 268
(d) A massage establishment must maintain a complete set 269
of legible records in English or Spanish, which m ust include 270
each employee's start date of employment, full legal name, date 271
of birth, home address, telephone number, and employment 272
position and a copy of the employee's government identification 273
required under s. 480.0535. All information required under this 274
paragraph must be recorded before the employee may provide any 275
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service or treatment to a client or patient. 276
(e) A massage establishment must conspicuously display a 2 277
inch by 2 inch photo for each employee, which, for massage 278
therapists, must be att ached to the massage therapist's license. 279
Such display must also include the employee's full legal name 280
and employment position. All information required under this 281
paragraph must be displayed before the employee may provide any 282
service or treatment to a c lient or patient. A massage 283
establishment within a public lodging establishment as defined 284
in s. 509.013(4) may satisfy this requirement by displaying the 285
photos and required information in an employee break room or 286
other room that is used by employees, bu t is not used by clients 287
or patients. 288
(f) A massage establishment must maintain a complete set 289
of legible records in English or Spanish, which must include the 290
date, time, and type of service or treatment provided; the full 291
legal name of the employee who provided the service or 292
treatment; and the full legal name, home address, and telephone 293
number of the client or patient. Medical records may satisfy 294
this requirement if the records include the specified 295
information. A copy of the client's or patient's photo 296
identification may be used to provide the full legal name and 297
home address of the client or patient. Records required under 298
this paragraph must be maintained for at least 1 year after a 299
service or treatment is provided. All information required under 300
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this paragraph must be collected and recorded before any service 301
or treatment is provided to a client or patient. The 302
establishment must confirm the identification of the client or 303
patient before any service or treatment is prov ided to the 304
client or patient. 305
(15)(14) Except for the requirements of subsection (13), 306
this section does not apply to a practitioner physician licensed 307
under chapter 457 or a physician licensed under , chapter 458, 308
chapter 459, or chapter 460 who employs a licensed massage 309
therapist to perform massage therapy on the practitioner's or 310
physician's patients at her or his the physician's place of 311
practice. This subsection does not restrict investigations by 312
the department for violations of chapter 456 or this chapter. 313
Section 6. Section 480.0465, Florida Statutes, is amended 314
to read: 315
480.0465 Advertisement ; prohibitions.— 316
(1) Each massage therapist or massage establishment 317
licensed under this act shall include the number of the license 318
in any advertisement of massage therapy services appearing in 319
any advertising medium, including, but not limited to, a 320
newspaper, airwave transmission, telephone directory, Internet, 321
or other advertising medium. The advertisement must also include 322
the physical address of the massage establishment and the 323
telephone number that has been provided to the department as 324
part of the licensing of the establishment. However, the 325
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inclusion of the physical address and telephone number is not 326
required for an advertisement by a massage establishment whose 327
establishment owner operates more than five locations in this 328
state. 329
(2) A massage therapist, an establishment owner, an 330
employee, or any third party directed by the establishment owner 331
or employee, may not place, publish, or distrib ute, or cause to 332
be placed, published, or distributed, any advertisement in any 333
advertising medium which states prostitution services, escort 334
services, or sexual services are available. 335
(3) A massage therapist, an establishment owner, an 336
employee, or any third party directed by the massage therapist, 337
establishment owner, or employee may not place, publish, or 338
distribute, or cause to be placed, published, or distributed, 339
any online advertisement on any website known for advertising 340
prostitution services, e scort services, or sexual services. 341
Pending licensure of a new massage establishment under s. 342
480.043(7), the license number of a licensed massage therapist 343
who is an owner or principal officer of the establishment may be 344
used in lieu of the license number for the establishment. 345
Section 7. Subsection (2) of section 480.0475, Florida 346
Statutes, is amended to read: 347
480.0475 Massage establishments; prohibited practices. — 348
(2) A person operating a massage establishment may not use 349
or permit the establishm ent to be used as a principal or 350
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temporary domicile for, to shelter or harbor, or as sleeping or 351
napping quarters for any person unless the establishment is 352
zoned for residential use under a local ordinance. 353
Section 8. Section 480.0535, Florida Statutes, is amended 354
to read: 355
480.0535 Documents required while working in a massage 356
establishment; penalties; reporting .— 357
(1) In order to provide the department and law enforcement 358
agencies the means to more effec tively identify, investigate, 359
and arrest persons engaging in human trafficking, an employee a 360
person employed by a massage establishment and any person 361
performing massage therapy in a massage establishment therein 362
must immediately present, upon the request of an investigator of 363
the department or a law enforcement officer, valid government 364
identification while in the establishment. An investigator of 365
the department must request valid government identification from 366
all employees while in the establishment. A valid government 367
identification for the purposes of this section is: 368
(a) A valid, unexpired driver license issued by any state, 369
territory, or district of the United States; 370
(b) A valid, unexpired identification card issued by any 371
state, territory, or d istrict of the United States; 372
(c) A valid, unexpired United States passport; 373
(d) A naturalization certificate issued by the United 374
States Department of Homeland Security; 375
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(e) A valid, unexpired alien registration receipt card 376
(green card); or 377
(f) A valid, unexpired employment authorization card 378
issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 379
(2) A person operating a massage establishment must: 380
(a) Immediately present, upon the request of an 381
investigator of the department or a law en forcement officer: 382
1. Valid government identification while in the 383
establishment. 384
2. A copy of the documentation specified in paragraph 385
(1)(a) for each employee and any person performing massage 386
therapy in the establishment. 387
3. A copy of the document s required under s. 388
480.043(14)(d) and (f). 389
(b) Ensure that each employee and any person performing 390
massage therapy in the massage establishment is able to 391
immediately present, upon the request of an investigator of the 392
department or a law enforcement of ficer, valid government 393
identification while in the establishment. 394
(3) A person who violates any provision of this section 395
commits: 396
(a) For a first violation, a misdemeanor of the second 397
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 398
(b) For a second violation, a misdemeanor of the first 399
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 400
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(c) For a third or subsequent violation, a felony of the 401
third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, 402
or s. 775.084. 403
(4) The department shall notify a federal immigration 404
office if a person operating a massage establishment, an 405
employee, or any person performing massage therapy in a massage 406
establishment fails to provide valid government identification 407
as required under this section. 408
Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 823.05, Florida 409
Statutes, is amended to read: 410
823.05 Places and groups engaged in certain activities 411
declared a nuisance; abatement and enjoinment. — 412
(3) A massage establishment as defined in s. 48 0.033 which 413
operates in violation of s. 480.043(14)(a) or (f), s. 480.0475, 414
or s. 480.0535(2) is declared a nuisance and may be abated or 415
enjoined as provided in ss. 60.05 and 60.06. 416
Section 10. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, eight full -time 417
equivalent positions, with associated salary rate of 593,954, 418
are authorized and the sums of $925,080 in recurring and 419
$108,952 in nonrecurring funds from the Medical Quality 420
Assurance Trust Fund are appropriated to the Department of 421
Health for the purpose of implem enting this act. 422
Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 423