1975 was the year that the state legislature made it official that massage therapists were licensed. The 1975 Legislative Report (PDF) tells it all.

By Representative Warnke

REHB 774 PARTIAL VETO ISSUE: Massage therapists ANALYSIS AS ENACTED The massage business in this State has been troubled insofar as appropriate licensing laws do not exist in all areas. This causes the public health and welfare to be jeopardized by the operations of unqualified massage operators.

SUMMARY: REHB 774 provides for State licensing of massage operators and massage businesses. The licensure laws are intended to supplement and not to supercede existing local laws where they now exist.

HOUSE: 86 SENATE: 35 HOUSE FREE CONFERENCE REPORT ADOPTED: 80 SENATE FREE CONFERENCE REPORT ADOPTED: 44 VETO SUMMARY: 5 9 (a) 3 0 Effective: September 8, 1975 C 280 L 75 1st ex. sess. PV Strikes Section 8 which would have allowed persons engaged in the massage business for less than one year prior to the effective date of the act a 6-month grace period to qualify for license. It further provided that residents of this State who have practiced massage for one year or more prior to the effective date of the act would have been exempt from the examination requirements, provided that proper application was completed and certain moral requirements were met.

Gov. Dan Evans did not like the grandfathering clause and vetoed that section. Here is his letter:

To the Honorable, the House of Representatives of the State of Washington Ladies and Gentlemen: Of-t–lCL C.H Jt,L ,UVC.RNOR OLYMPIA July 2, 1975

1 am returning herewith without ay approval as to one section House Bill No. 774 entitled: “AN ACT Relating to the operation of massage busines.ses.” This bill provides for the regulation and licensing, at the state level,of massage businesses and operators. Section 8 contains a “grandfather clause” allowing any person engaged in the massage business for one year or more to qualify for the massage operator’s license without taking the examination prescribed elsewhere in the bill. I have long stated my objection to grandfather clauses in business licensing acts for the reason that I do not believe it is either in the best interest of the public or the particular business involved to license all persons previously engaged in a business for a set period of time regardless of the competency of such person. In addition, I cannot ignore the reports by law enforcement agencies detailing the proliferation in certain areas of our state of purported massage parlors which actually engage in a number of illicit and criminal acti­vities. Approval of the grandfather clause in this bill would effectively grant licenses to persons engaged in such activities at those establishments. With the exception of section 8 which I have vetoed for the reasons stated, the remainder of House Bill No. 774 is approved

So it began… or was it the beginning?

It was not the beginning of massage therapists working to make massage therapy a profession.

As early as 1953 (and maybe earlier but I haven’t found evidence of this yet) massage therapists were getting together to begin the process of creating a profession. Oct 1953 is the first edition that I have of the newsletters of the WA Chapter of the American Association of Masseurs and Masseuses (Now American Massage Therapy Association – Washington.)

The Editorial from then President Mr. Arthur Mann states:

Members of AAMM, do you know we of the Massage Profession are just about two thousand and three hundred years behind in the matter of organizing and developing our profession? Massage and Medicine were both used and recommended by Hippocrates….

Now it is high time for us to develop our organization to pool our knowledge and otherwise work for the betterment of our profession.

There is a great need for our skills that point is well recognized by the public and also the Medical People….

More and more we hear rumors of discontent with the practice of massage and valid threats of legislating us out of the field. Now it is up to us shall we act or shall we be eliminated. This article is written to make you think about our problems and to encourage you to become active in the doings of our Assn.

Seems the message is the same… the associations looking for people to get involved.

The same applies today. The AMTA-WA Chapter is looking for new candidates to run for board members and to my knowledge as of today, no one has applied to run for any position. See the call for candidates. Do you have the time to volunteer and run for office?

They are also looking for people to give chair massage to our legislators in Olympia. Massage Awareness Day (MAD) is your chance to talk to the AMTA-WA Lobbyist and your legislators about massage therapy and some of the issues we have with insurance carriers, the board of massage and whatever else you may have in mind.

2020 – the Year to Get Involved

1. Get more people to the Massage Awareness Day at the capital in Olympia to talk to legislators and their staff and provide chair massage. ( Could we be a bigger hit than potato day?) February 11, 2020, Tuesday
2. Look into options for creating an accountable care network to see if one could help solve the many issues we are faced with.
3. Look into options for creating a Union of massage therapists for employees and for sole proprietors.
4. Create a letter writing campaign to our local representatives to share with them the stories and struggles of dealing with insurance companies – things like the low pay, long time to process prior authorizations, the fact that Prior authorizations are denying benefits already given in people’s plans, the fact that many insurance companies customer service representatives do not understand that a prescription is needed for all care and that the companies who are buying plans and giving them to their employees do not understand the benefits. (Many tell their employees to use the massage therapy benefits for maintenance massage when it is NOT covered.)
5. Letter writing campaign to the Office of the Insurance commissioner to explain the issues stated above.
6. Create a handout for clients about how massage therapy benefits work and include ideas to give to their HR department to use when negotiating insurance plans.
7. Volunteer for the Political Action Committee – www.wamah.org
8. Contribute to the PAC – www.wamah.org
9. Get involved with one of the local networks or start a local network in your area. Getting together face to face will be an important part of the future of the profession here in WA.
10. Volunteer with one of the associations in WA State – AMTA-WA or Washington State Massage Therapy Association. Both need help in gathering information and getting it out to everyone in WA State.
11. Go to the Board of Massage Meetings. February 21, 2020 Tumwater; May 15, 2020 Kent; August 21, 2020 Tri-Cities ; November 13 2020 Kent. Sign up for the newsletter to keep up to date.
12. Volunteer to be on the Board of Massage.
13. Set up a meeting or go to a meeting with your local districts legislators and talk to them about the issues we are facing in WA State.
14. Get involved with organizations and people who can help move the profession forward like the WA State Health Care Authority (who creates healthcare plans for Uniform Medical , Bree Collaborative, State of Reform ( healthcare policy).
15. Look into the political race for Insurance Commissioner. Kreidler has been the insurance commissioner for 20 years. There is currently one other running against him – a libertarian named Anthony Welti.
16. Figure out what to do about the issues we have with insurance and companies telling members that they don’t need a prescription for massage (which means it does not have to be medically necessary), members being uniformed about how prior authorization works, and ???
17. Have the insurance carriers explain medical necessity more clearly for us and provide that to their members.
18. How do we get massage therapy covered for anxiety and depression since it is one of the areas where we have the strongest evidence that massage works.

The Department of Revenue sent out a letter/email to massage therapists:

“Beginning with business activities occurring on or after Jan.1, 2020, a surcharge applies to the amount of tax payable under the Service and Other Activities B&O tax classification by businesses primarily engaged in one or more specified activities. The surcharge is in addition to the Service and Other Activities B&O tax rate of 1.5%, for an effective rate of 1.8%.”

https://dor.wa.gov/…/business…/workforce-education-surcharge

They provided an excel worksheet to determine what occupations would be included in this new tax. Chiropractors, MD’s, physical therapists and Acupuncturists were listed in the worksheet. Massage therapists were not listed in the worksheet, but that does not mean we are not being taxed. We need confirmation from the DOR on whether or not massage therapists are included in this new tax.

Excel worksheet: https://dor.wa.gov/…/P…/Misc/WorkforceEducationWorkbook.xlsx

This all is a result of a bill passed early this year: SB 2158

http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/…/Sessio…/House/2158-S2.SL.pdf

“The legislature further finds that providing additional resources for workforce investments is critical in maintaining Washington’s competitiveness in the global economy by ensuring businesses are able to hire Washington talent. Therefore, the legislature intends to create the new workforce education investment account, supported by professions that depend on higher education, that will expand existing investments to help people earn the credentials essential to obtain family-wage jobs and fill the seven hundred forty thousand jobs of the future.”

Here is the RCW: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=82.04.299

Here you can see the bill sponsors and the votes from each person: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary…

When researching the bill, I found past articles on the topic which point out other things:

“Microsoft and Amazon, some of Washington’s biggest corporations, will pay higher taxes to fund higher education in the state.”

Here is more to read: https://www.salon.com/…/washington-states-big-bet-on-free-…/

https://www.insidehighered.com/…/tax-hike-employers-will-he…

https://www.grantthornton.com/…/WA-establishes-surcharge-on…

Today’s Board of Massage Meeting was just finishing up and fine tuning the latest draft of the proposed rules(PDF).

The latest revisions are in the Phase 1 of rule making. A CR 101 was filed with the Department of Health Filed September 6, 2017, 11:25 a.m. This phase is a follow up or continuation of the rule making process that created rules that became effective July 30, 2017.

The biggest changes with the latest round is an increase in the number of hours of initial education that is required for basic massage school and also a change in CE that now will make it so CPR is a required class. (It has been and is right now OPTIONAL.)

The rule making process (PDF From BOM that explains rule making) requires that the Board go through each section of the rules line by line and create new language where needed. This process has had an an incredible amount of influence by those in attendance to the board meetings including many massage school owners, representatives from AMTA-WA (www.amta-wa.org) and WA State Massage Therapy Association (www.mywsmta.org).

The Rule Making Process will be moving to the CR 102 process where the BOM will review the proposed language:

Our policy advisors review federal and state laws and rules, gather data, conduct analyses, collect feedback from interested parties and the public, and circulate working drafts of the rule to interested people and technical experts. This feedback helps us develop alternative options, draft text, as well as cost-benefit or small business economic impact statements.

It is my understanding that the CR 102 process does open the rules up to public comment but not much will be changed during this phase. The big changes came in the CR 101 process where the BOM and interested parties drafted the rules and language.

The BOM is working on a timeline for the massage schools and massage therapists to have enough time to make the changes in their school programs to adopt new courses and syllabi to meet the new requirements.

Social Change Takes Time, By Lesley Bush Aug 29, 2019

Social change takes time. Back in September of 2016, my daughter noticed a neon sign at Orchid Spa that said, “Open Massage.” She promptly checked the Google reviews and the very first one said, “Lucy gives a rapid hand fire job.” I was shocked and horrified to hear this kind of thing was happening so close to home.

It was a life turning moment for me. I explained to my daughter this was illegal and down the rabbit hole I went. I explained to her about human trafficking and prostitution. I was also going to college at this time and studying social work. It was there I studied the long term cultural history of people selling children and young adults with empty promises of giving their children a trade and education to make a living. The missing clarifying information was about sex trafficking or “sweat shops.”

What could I do to make a difference? Cultural change takes time. My favorite book, “People’s History” by Howard Zinn, talked about civil right movements that took three to five years. This is a great book about small groups of people who stood together and changed tyranny, oppression and slavery. I know human trafficking is an age old issue that needs key people to stand up and say, “This needs to stop, now.”

I started with writing a letter to the Washington Board of Health complaining about Orchid Spa practicing massage without a state license. Two weeks later I received a letter from the Washington Board of Health saying they would turn the concern of criminal activity over to the proper authorities in Bremerton. I am always amazed at how I think the laws work versus how it really works.

In October of 2016, Lavon Watson reached out to my local massage support group, called Massage Network Solutions. I arranged for him to be the guest speaker at our November meeting. He brought Kitsap Sun reporters Josh Farley and Andrew Binion. At that meeting I learned about a group of people who call themselves “Hobbyists” who are looking for the next sexual adventure in illicit massage. As the massage group started talking about weird phone calls and clients showing up with wads of money, Lavon explained this is typical behavior of a Hobbyist.

In December of 2016, the Kitsap Sun wrote an article called The Struggle to take down ‘Storefront Brothels.’ With this topic fresh in the local community paper, Lavon Watson and I organized massage therapists to talk to the Bremerton City Council about the need to write an ordinance to protect legitimate massage therapists and to close down illicit massage businesses. Lavon talked to the mayor after the meeting and I arranged to meet with a local city council member. Unfortunately, no one followed up or called us back.

On March 9, 2017, fellow massage therapist Cynthia Land briefed me about a meeting of The League of Women Voters of Kitsap at Poulsbo City Hall. All the police chiefs and sheriffs in Kitsap County were there to talk to the local people about concerns in the Kitsap County area. Lavon gave me a report on the strong markers of human trafficking in certain local businesses. I went to the meeting and was the only one who asked about human trafficking. People next to me where shocked and in dismay that such horror was happening in Kitsap County. The Bremerton Police Chief was aware, and spoke extensively about the problems they were facing in shutting down the activity. The police chiefs appreciated the report and showed great interest. I gave them Lavon’s and my contact information. No one reached out for more information.

I took Lavon Watson’s class on Human Trafficking 101. I lined up a keynote speaker for Massage Network Solutions to educate our massage community on law changes by Mary Beth Berney.  Scarlet Road, a local non-profit, talked to us about their work as a safe house for helping people get out of human trafficking. It is a difficult subject. We lost members when we started this adventure. But now twenty-four members of Massage Network Solutions understand and are involved in raising awareness of human trafficking. They know how to protect themselves legally against perpetrators. They know how to pay attention to subtle grooming behaviors of hobbyists. The board members and I work hard to give massage therapists a safe place to talk about difficult situations that they experience in their businesses.

I know my sphere of influence is about 150 people that can reach about 1,500 people. This is true for every individual in the massage community. In Kitsap County, Massage Network Solutions has a sphere of 36,000 people they may influence. On the surface, the ordinance for Bremerton looked like nothing was going to happen. In hind sight, there was a lot of work going on in our community as awareness was on the rise. Sometimes information just needs to percolate, and organizations need to solidify their action plans.

In April of 2019, Christine Weber Davis, an LMT and co-worker, called me. She was happy to report that Bremerton was working on an ordinance for massage therapists. She was asked to be part of panel reviewing the information and to give feedback. She was waiting for permission from the police chief to share the ordinance with me for my review. I introduced her and the police chief to Lavon Watson.

In July and August of 2019, the Kitsap Sun reporter, Christian Vossler, called me to ask how the new ordinance would affect me and other massage therapists in the area. Thankfully, the local newspaper reached out. I did not know the local ordinance was getting ready for public vote the following week. That is when I acted fast. I posted the ordinance on a Facebook page called WA State Massage Therapists and LMTs of Kitsap. My massage therapist community acted instantaneously.

The president of AMTA-WA, Michael Mandell, called and wrote the mayor a letter of proposed changes. (PDF) Robbin Blake from WSMTA called and wrote proposed ordinance changes. (Facebook Page) At least eight massage therapists outside of Massage Network Solutions called and emailed the mayor and police chief. Extraordinary network intersections began happening. Jennifer Wiegand, LMT, talked to the mayor and his wife about the ordinance in great length at a local outside concert. Christine Weber Davis set up a 10-minute meeting for us to talk to Michael Goodnow, a Bremerton City Council member. He changed the itinerary from a vote on the ordinance to a discussion on August 7, 2019. Robbin Blake, Governmental Relations from Washington State Massage Therapy Association (WSMTA), commuted from Brinnon twice to speak about the ordinance at the Bremerton council meetings and made various phone calls and emails. Massage therapists Rebecca Shirley, Bonner Sams, Tomas Delgado and Julia Newrot Johnson reached out to the police chief and mayor by phone calls and emails. Julia Newrot Johnson invited the police chief to her massage office and explained how a legitimate massage business runs. They all showed up to the Bremerton council meetings. I don’t know the names of everyone involved and I wish I did. There are key people that kept the momentum going. Every person involved added to the social change.

So, in August of 2019, Bremerton voted to put Ordinance 5373 in place. This ordinance only allows massage therapists to practice in Kitsap County who have legitimate Washington State massage licenses. It took work to get the language to a place where we all agreed. The past three years have led up to the crescendo of Ordinance 5373 that has been voted on and is part of the laws in Bremerton. My favorite part was hearing the police chief and mayor enjoyed working with the massage community. The police chief said he made new friends. The mayor enjoyed the collaboration piece. He said everyone was polite, genuine, intelligent and experts in their field as massage therapists. The police chief looks forward to shutting down all businesses without legitimate massage licenses. He was relieved how streamlined and simple this action will be. Thank you to everyone involved. We did it!

Find Massage CE Classes in the Bremerton Area .

Massage Network Solutions

LMTs of Kitsap Facebook Group