Massage proposal appears in Pierre - Sioux Falls Argus Leader

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The state’s board of massage therapy has offered a bill that seeks to reinstitute its enforcement authority.

House Bill 1027 would also allow criminal charges for therapists who allow unlicensed employees to work under them and let the massage board pull a license if someone “aids and abets” in breaking the massage board’s rules.

The bill comes in part in response to criticism from some massage therapists about the board’s lack of enforcement actions. Rhanda Heller, a longtime board critic, told the Sioux Falls City Council in October that unlicensed massage therapists were working unchecked in the city and that sex traffickers use massage parlors as a front for prostitution.

Jennifer Stalley, the board’s executive director, is set to speak to the city’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday to address their concerns.

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Changes pushed for massage therapy


It already is a crime to practice massage without a license, but the bill would make it a crime for a licensee to allow other unlicensed therapists to practice under them. Both crimes would be punishable by up to year in prison.

HB 1027 also would require therapists to present their license and a photo identification upon request, a provision Stalley said would help police investigate informal complaints against a business.

“The goal of that is to be a little more law enforcement-friendly,” Stalley said.

The bill would not return the board’s authority to conduct its own inspections without a formal complaint. That provision was removed in 2013, when the massage board survived an attempt by legislators to kill the board altogether.

The board felt that such authority could raise legal questions about search and seizure, Stalley said, noting that many massage therapists operate out of their home.

“When you start inspecting and searching someone’s home, I think it probably complicates things more than what the board wanted,” Stalley said.

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