CS/HB 1065 - Licensed Massage Therapists

• Requires applicants for massage therapist licenses (received on or after January 1, 2013) to submit fingerprints that must be enrolled in the national retained print arrest notification program and the Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.

• Mandates the Department of Health issue emergency orders suspending massage therapist and establishment licenses upon conviction or guilty plea for specified felony offenses including kidnapping, human trafficking, sexual battery, and offenses involving minors or prostitution.

• Requires existing massage therapists licensed before July 1, 2014, to submit to background screening requirements by January 31, 2015.

• Denies new or renewal massage therapist and establishment licenses to applicants with convictions for 19 specified felony offenses under Florida law or similar offenses in other jurisdictions, with an exemption for physicians employing licensed massage therapists.

• Allows the Department of Health to require corporate owners, officers, or managers directly involved in establishment operations to undergo background screening if the establishment has more than $250,000 in business assets in Florida; establishes July 1, 2014, as the effective date.