Senate Bill 2085 Summary

• Requires the North Dakota Board of Massage to conduct statewide and nationwide criminal history record checks for all applicants; licensees may also be required to submit to such checks, with costs borne by the applicant or licensee.

• Restructures the Board of Massage from five members (three licensed therapists and two others) to five members including three licensed therapists, one consumer member with strict conflict-of-interest restrictions, and one massage school instructor.

• Reduces continuing education requirements for license renewal from 32 hours to 24 hours every two years, with remote learning capped at nine hours (down from twelve hours).

• Increases the maximum civil penalty for violations from one hundred to two hundred dollars.

• Adds reciprocity provisions allowing licensees with five or more years of practice in states with substantially similar standards to obtain North Dakota licenses without examination.