AB 1822: Menacing the Massage Profession

Massage therapists in California have been facing a unique and archaic problem in the past few months.

In the past, certification in CA was handled exclusively by local law enforcement agencies. This is a cumbersome system that requires applicants to essentially go from police station to police station in each jurisdiction where they wish to work. For freelance therapists, particularly those who make housecalls, this is nothing short of a nightmare. Thankfully, certification was passed onto a state board, the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC), which allowed for streamlined statewide certification. The CAMTC application was no less-stringent than law enforcement's had been, and required -- among other things -- a sign-off from a local police department to certify an applicant had no prior felony convictions.

This essentially meant far less money stuffing law enforcement agencies' coffers.

Thus was born AB 1822, an anti-prostitution bill proposing that MT certification be turned back over to the hands of law enforcement. Justification for this bill was presented by Andre Swanson as: "a recent random sampling of CAMTC applicants, which concluded that 57 percent of the applicants were known prostitutes and 32 percent had questionable backgrounds that required additional investigation" (Letter from Andre Swanson's office, 2010). This "random sampling," a study which the bill's sponsors refuse to present for scrutiny, has been called a hoax by the CAMTC's executive director, Ahmos Netanel. In defense of the CAMTC, Netanel also stated that the organization has denied thousands of applicants with convictions who'd been previously certified by local law enforcement. These figures, however, also remain unconfirmed.

Through the back-and-forth heresay, a recent amendment has been made to AB 1822. In what was seen as a compromise, the CA government proposed certification remain under the authority of the CAMTC, as long as two law enforcement officials are admitted to the CAMTC's board of directors. Opponents of the bill view this as an attempt to delegitimize the profession, and with good reason; other professional medical boards do not require the constant scrutiny of law enforcement, so why does the CA government feel "babysitting" is required here?

AB 1822 has received national attention for one simple reason: the perceived delegitimizing of the massage profession. CA, as one of the largest states, also has one of the largest therapist populations (number to be revised as soon as I find my latest issue of Massage Magazine.) National industry trends often follow CA's lead.

What national ramifications could echo from the final decisions in AB 1822? Will this have a positive effect on the industry, with therapists banding together nationally to support our occupations's strict standards of professionalism? Or will these decisions impact the public opinion, and reaffirm the dated stereotype of therapists as sex workers?

If you would like to oppose AB 1822, MassageToday.com has formed an online petition here.