Massage Therapy Compact

The Council of State Governments, in coordination with the Department of Defense, are proposing changes to the Interstate Massage Compact to build a broader coalition of support from the profession and states. The Interstate Massage Compact has only been enacted by 5 states in the 3 years it has been available for enactment. The rate of enactment for the Interstate Massage Compact significantly underperforms other licensure compacts developed by CSG in that same timeframe.

To build a broader coalition of support, we are proposing minor changes to the education and examination requirements in the model legislation. While it was the intention of the drafting team for the Interstate Massage Compact to address these requirements by compact commission rule, it is evident, given the lack of enactments, that the compact language must be updated to gain full support from the profession and reassure states as to the intent of the compact, in order to bring state enactments up to the level of other licensure compacts.

The proposed changes would ensure massage therapists who have taken the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork Exam prior to January 1^st, 2015, would be able to obtain a multistate license. Additionally, therapists that have graduated from a state-approved educational program with less than 625 clock hours could obtain a multistate license if they have been licensed in good standing for two years. The newly proposed language would also provide greater flexibility on education requirements to military spouses. The compact still ensures all holders of a multistate license have obtained a quality massage therapy education and have passed a national licensing examination. These minor changes do not diminish the provisions in the compact that enhance public safety.

Additionally, the newly proposed language empowers licensing boards by giving greater flexibility on who may serve as a compact commissioner. The new language would allow a licensing board to appoint a member of the board or board staff to serve as a commissioner while the current version of IMpact mandates that the commissioner must be the primary administrative officer of the licensing agency or their designee. This change was made to address concerns expressed by some state boards about workload and staff capacity.