FL S1068

Requires massage therapy license applicants to submit fingerprints for background screening through the Department of Law Enforcement and FBI, with fingerprints enrolled in the national retained print arrest notification program and Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse.

Mandates the Department of Health issue emergency orders suspending licenses of massage therapists and establishments whose owners or managers have been convicted of specified felonies including human trafficking, sexual battery, prostitution-related offenses, and child exploitation crimes.

Requires existing massage therapists licensed before July 1, 2014, to complete background screening requirements by January 31, 2015, and denies new or renewal licenses to applicants convicted of the same specified felony offenses.

Requires owners and managers of massage establishments to submit to background screening, with corporations having more than $250,000 in state business assets required to screen their owners, officers, or management personnel; establishes January 31, 2015, deadline for existing establishments.

Exempts massage establishments wholly owned by licensed physicians or such physicians and their immediate family members from background screening and licensure requirements.