By:  Madla                                             S.B. No. 873
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the regulation of massage therapy.
    1-2        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-3        SECTION 1.  Section 1, Chapter 752, Acts of the 69th
    1-4  Legislature, Regular Session, 1985, (Article 4512k, Vernon's Texas
    1-5  Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subdivisions (1), (2), (3),
    1-6  (4), and (10) and by adding Subdivisions (15) and (16) to read as
    1-7  follows:
    1-8              (1)  "Massage therapy" means the health care service of
    1-9  manipulating <manipulation of> soft tissue for therapeutic
   1-10  purposes.  The term includes, but is not limited to, effleurage
   1-11  (gliding strokes) <(stroking)>, petrissage (kneading), tapotement
   1-12  (percussion), compression, vibration, superficial and deep
   1-13  friction, nerve strokes, joint mobilization, superficial warming
   1-14  techniques, jostling, rocking, shaking, and Swedish gymnastics,
   1-15  either by hand or with mechanical or electrical apparatus for the
   1-16  purpose of body massage.  Massage therapy may include the use of
   1-17  oil<, salt glows, heat lamps, hot> and hydrotherapy <cold packs,
   1-18  tub, shower, or cabinet baths>.  Equivalent terms for massage
   1-19  therapy are massage, therapeutic massage, massage technology,
   1-20  myo-therapy, body massage, <body rub,> or any derivation of those
   1-21  terms. <Massage therapy is a health care service when the massage
   1-22  therapy is for therapeutic purposes.>  As used in the Act, the
   1-23  terms "therapy" and "therapeutic" do not include diagnosis, the
    2-1  treatment of illness or disease, or any service or procedure for
    2-2  which a license to practice medicine, chiropractic, physical
    2-3  therapy, or podiatry is required by law.  Massage therapy does not
    2-4  constitute the practice of chiropractic.
    2-5              (2)  "Massage therapist" means an individual who
    2-6  practices or administers massage therapy to a client <patron> of
    2-7  either gender for compensation.  The term includes a registered
    2-8  massage therapist, therapeutic massage practitioner, massage
    2-9  technician, masseur, masseuse, myo-therapist, body worker, body
   2-10  massager, <body rubber,> or any derivation of those titles.
   2-11              (3)  "School-based massage <Massage> therapy
   2-12  instructor" means an individual who is a registered massage
   2-13  therapist, who is instructing one or more students in the soft
   2-14  tissue manipulation section of the course of instruction required
   2-15  for registration as a massage therapist <therapy>, and whose
   2-16  instruction is approved by the department.  A school-based massage
   2-17  therapy instructor may also teach other courses the instructor is
   2-18  qualified to teach.
   2-19              (10)  "Instructor" means an individual who instructs
   2-20  one or more students in any section of the course of instruction
   2-21  required for registration as a massage therapist other than the
   2-22  soft tissue manipulation section of the course of instruction.
   2-23              (15)  "Independent massage therapy instructor" means an
   2-24  individual who is a registered massage therapist, who is not
   2-25  associated with a massage school, and who is the sole instructor of
    3-1  the course of instruction required for registration as a massage
    3-2  therapist under this Act.
    3-3              (16)  "Advanced study" means the concentrated study of
    3-4  any area of coursework listed in Section 2(b)(1) of this Act or
    3-5  hydrotherapy.
    3-6        SECTION 2.  Section 2, Chapter 752, Acts of the 69th
    3-7  Legislature, Regular Session, 1985, (Article 4512k, Vernon's Texas
    3-8  Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and
    3-9  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
   3-10        (b)  An individual who registers as a massage therapist under
   3-11  this Act must present evidence satisfactory to the board that the
   3-12  person:
   3-13              (1)  has satisfactorily completed massage therapy
   3-14  studies in a 600 <300> hour, supervised course of instruction
   3-15  provided by an independent <a> massage therapy instructor, by a
   3-16  massage school registered by the department, by a state approved
   3-17  educational institution, or by any combination of instructors or
   3-18  schools, in which 125 hours are dedicated to the study of  anatomy,
   3-19  physiology, and kinesiology, 175 hours to the study of soft tissue
   3-20  manipulation, 50 hours to the study of business practices,
   3-21  professionalism, and ethics, 30 hours to the study of health,
   3-22  hygiene, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and first aid, 25 hours to
   3-23  the study of pathology and contraindications, 20 hours to the study
   3-24  of history, legal issues, and the rules of the board, 75 hours to
   3-25  an internship program, and 100 hours of advanced study to be
    4-1  determined by the school or independent massage therapy instructor
    4-2  <Swedish massage therapy techniques taught by a massage therapy
    4-3  instructor, 50 hours to the study of anatomy, 25 hours to the study
    4-4  of physiology, 15 hours to the study of hydrotherapy, 15 hours to
    4-5  the study of business practices and professional ethics standards,
    4-6  20 hours to the study of health and hygiene, and 50 hours to an
    4-7  internship program>;
    4-8              (2)  is registered as a massage therapist in another
    4-9  state or country that has and maintains standards and requirements
   4-10  of practice and licensing or registration that substantially
   4-11  conform to those of this state, as determined by the department;
   4-12  <or>
   4-13              (3)  has practiced massage therapy as a profession for
   4-14  not less than five years in another state or country that does not
   4-15  have or maintain standards and requirements of practice and
   4-16  licensing or registration that substantially conform to those of
   4-17  this state, as determined by the department; or
   4-18              (4)  has satisfactorily completed a training program in
   4-19  soft tissue manipulation by a school regulated by a state or
   4-20  national regulating or accrediting body that maintains standards
   4-21  and requirements that substantially conform to those of this state,
   4-22  as determined by the department.
   4-23        (c)  A student in a state-approved course of instruction that
   4-24  consists of a minimum of 600 <300> hours is exempt from
   4-25  registration under this Act if the student provides massage therapy
    5-1  as part of an internship program or for no compensation.
    5-2        (d)  In order to continue to be registered under this Act, a
    5-3  massage therapist must provide proof to the department at the time
    5-4  required by rules adopted under this Act that during the calendar
    5-5  year the registration holder has completed 12 hours of classroom
    5-6  instruction, recognized by the department, designed to enhance the
    5-7  registration holder's career.
    5-8        SECTION 3.  Section 2A(f), Chapter 752, Acts of the 69th
    5-9  Legislature, Regular Session, 1985 (Article 4512k, Vernon's Texas
   5-10  Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
   5-11        (f)  A student who is participating in an internship program
   5-12  may:
   5-13              (1)  practice marketing skills;
   5-14              (2)  make an appointment with an internship <a> client;
   5-15              (3) <(2)>  interview a client;
   5-16              (4) <(3)>  perform massage therapy;
   5-17              (5) <(4)>  collect and review a client evaluation with
   5-18  the student's supervisor; and
   5-19              (6) <(5)>  perform other tasks necessary to the
   5-20  business of providing massage therapy to the public.
   5-21        SECTION 4.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
   5-22  section, this Act takes effect September 1, 1993, and applies only
   5-23  to the holder of a registration certificate issued or renewed after
   5-24  that date.  The holder of a registration certificate issued or
   5-25  renewed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
    6-1  law in effect at the time the registration certificate was issued
    6-2  or renewed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
    6-3  purpose.
    6-4        (b)  The additional 300 hours of massage therapy studies
    6-5  required for registration under Section 2 (b)(1), Chapter 752, Acts
    6-6  of the 69th Legislature, Regular Session, 1985 (Article 4512k,
    6-7  Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as added by this Act, applies only
    6-8  to a student who enrolls in a course of instruction in massage
    6-9  therapy after December 31, 1996.
   6-10        SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
   6-11  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   6-12  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   6-13  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   6-14  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.