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HB2846 - 572R - I Ver
REFERENCE TITLE:
massage therapy board; examination; licensure
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HB 2846
Introduced by
Representative
Bliss
AN
ACT
Amending sections 32-4203, 32-4222,
32-4223 and 32-4224, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the
board of massage therapy.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 32-4203, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
32-4203.
Board; powers and duties
A. The board shall:
1. Evaluate the qualifications of applicants for
licensure.
2. Designate at least one national examination that
it requires
all
applicants to pass.� The examination must
be available to a graduating massage therapy or bodywork therapy student within
ninety days before the student's expected graduation date. The board
shall require that an examination be processed and the results returned to the
board within thirty days after the examination is administered.�
If,
by October 20, 2005, the testing agency administering the examination fails or
is unable to comply with the requirements of this paragraph, the board shall
designate another examination for applicants to pass.
�
The same national examination shall be required of all in-state and out-of-state
licensure applicants and applicants by endorsement.
3. Issue licenses to persons who meet the
requirements of this chapter.
4. Regulate the practice of massage therapy by
interpreting and enforcing this chapter.
5. Establish education requirements for licensees
and applicants, including identifying board-recognized schools and continuing
education programs and assessing the continuing competence of licensees.
6. Adopt rules for ethical and professional conduct
to govern the practice of massage therapy in this state.
7. Adopt rules to enforce this chapter.
8. Meet at least once each quarter in compliance
with the open meeting requirements of title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1 and keep
an official record of these meetings.
9. At its first regular meeting after the start of
each calendar year, elect officers from among its members as necessary to
accomplish board business.
10. Provide for the timely orientation and training
of new professional and public appointees to the board regarding board
licensing and disciplinary procedures, this chapter, board rules and board
procedures.
11. Maintain a current list of all licensees that
includes the licensee's name, current business address and telephone number and
license number and that is regularly accessible in electronic format to public
officials and agencies to verify the license status of licensees in this state.
12. Enter into contracts for services necessary to
enforce this chapter.
13. Publish, at least annually, or make available
for copying or reproduction in any format, final disciplinary actions taken
against a licensee.
B. The board may:
1. Accept and spend federal monies and private
grants, gifts, contributions and devises to assist in carrying out the purposes
of this chapter.� These monies do not revert to the state general fund at the
end of a fiscal year.
2. Administer oaths and affirmations, subpoena
witnesses, take evidence and require the production of documents, records or
information, either kept in original form or electronically stored or recorded,
or other items relevant to a matter within the jurisdiction of the board.
3. For initial licensure,
require a criminal background check,
including the fingerprinting of every applicant for licensure, to assist the
board in determining whether grounds exist to deny a license.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 32-4222, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
32-4222.
Qualifications for licensure; rules
A. An applicant for a license as a massage therapist
shall:
1. Be at least eighteen years of age.
2. Be a citizen or legal resident of the United
States.
3. Satisfy the requirements of section 32-4224.
4. Receive either a high school diploma or general
equivalency diploma or a similar document or certificate or submit proof that
the applicant has passed an ability to benefit examination recognized by the
United States department of education.
5. Pay the fees established pursuant to section 32-4227.
6. Within five years preceding the date of the
application for initial licensure, not have been convicted of a misdemeanor
involving prostitution or solicitation or another similar offense involving
moral turpitude that has a reasonable relationship to the practice of massage
therapy.
7. Within the preceding five years, not have
voluntarily surrendered a license under section 32-4254 or not have had a
license to practice massage therapy or another similar license revoked by a
political subdivision of this state or a regulatory agency in another
jurisdiction in the United States for an act that occurred in that jurisdiction
and that would be subject to discipline pursuant to this chapter.
8. Not be currently under investigation, suspension
or restriction by a political subdivision of this state or a regulatory agency
in another jurisdiction in the United States for an act that occurred in that
jurisdiction and that would be subject to discipline pursuant to this
chapter. If the applicant is under investigation by a regulatory
agency in another jurisdiction, the board shall suspend the application process
and may not issue or deny a license to the applicant until the investigation is
resolved.
9. For initial licensure, submit a full set of
fingerprints to the board for the purpose of obtaining a state and federal
criminal records check pursuant to section 41-1750 and Public Law 92-544.�
The department of public safety may exchange this fingerprint data with the
federal bureau of investigation.� The board may charge the cost of each
criminal background check to the applicant.
10.
Beginning January 1, 2023,
Possess a valid fingerprint clearance card issued pursuant to title 41, chapter
12, article 3.1 for initial licensure, license renewal
, a
temporary license
or license reinstatement pursuant to this chapter.
11. Successfully pass an Arizona
massage therapist jurisprudence examination.
B. In addition to the requirements of subsection A
of this section, an applicant for licensure as a massage therapist shall
either:
1. Have successfully completed a course of study of
massage therapy or bodywork therapy consisting of a minimum of five hundred
classroom and clinical hours of supervised instruction at a
board
recognized
board-recognized
school in this
state that is accredited by an agency recognized by the secretary of the United
States department of education.�
2. Have done both of the following:
(a) Successfully completed a course of study in
massage therapy or bodywork therapy consisting of a minimum of five hundred
classroom and clinical hours of supervised instruction at a school in this
state that is licensed by the state board for private postsecondary education
or at a school outside of this state that is recognized by the board pursuant
to section 32-4228.
(b) Successfully passed an examination administered
by a national board accredited by the certifying agency that has been approved
by the national commission on competency assurance and that is in good standing
with that agency
or have successfully passed an examination that
is administered or approved by the board
.
C. The board may adopt rules to allow it to consider
the education and experience of an applicant who came from a foreign country.�
The board by rule may increase the minimum number of classroom hours of
supervised instruction at a board recognized school that an applicant for
licensure must successfully have completed.
D. If the board is satisfied that an applicant meets
the requirements of this section, the board shall issue a license to the
applicant.
E. Subject to the board's approval, the executive
director may issue licenses to applicants who meet the requirements of this
chapter.
F. The board may deny an application for a license
if the applicant committed an act that would subject a person licensed under
this chapter to disciplinary action.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. Section 32-4223, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
32-4223.
Licensure by endorsement
A. An applicant is eligible for
reciprocal
licensure
by endorsement
if either of the following
applies:
1. The applicant has been licensed in another state
that has comprehensive standards for licensure for massage therapists for at
least two of the last five years preceding the filing of the application with
the board.
2. The applicant holds a current certification from
the national certification board for therapeutic massage and bodywork or
another agency that meets the standards of the national organization on
competency assurance and received education and training
that
are
substantially equivalent to that required by this chapter.
B. When an applicant submits an application for
reciprocity
licensure by endorsement
, the
applicant shall also submit a letter or other document acceptable to the board
showing whether any jurisdiction that has previously certified or licensed the
applicant has instituted disciplinary proceedings or has unresolved complaints
pending against the applicant.� If a disciplinary proceeding or an unresolved
complaint is pending, the applicant shall not be licensed until the proceeding
or the complaint has been resolved in the applicant's favor.
C. An applicant for licensure by
endorsement is required to successfully pass an ARizona massage therapist
jurisprudence examination.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 4. Section 32-4224, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
32-4224.
Application
A.
An applicant for licensure
shall file a completed application under oath or affirmation containing the
information required by the board.� The applicant shall include the application
fee as prescribed in section 32-4227.
B. The executive director may issue a
temporary license to an applicant who files a completed application, who meets
the applicable qualifications prescribed in section 32-4222, subsection
A, who has satisfactorily completed a course in massage therapy or bodywork
therapy at an institution that is recognized by the board pursuant to section
32-4228 and who pays the prescribed application fee.� A temporary license
is not effective for more than one hundred eighty days and expires on the
occurrence of any one of the following:
1. Issuance of a license by the board.
2. Denial of the application by the
board.
3. Expiration of the term for which
the temporary license was issued.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 5.
Temporary license holders
A massage therapist who holds a
temporary license issued pursuant to section 32-4224, subsection B,
Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, on the effective date of this
act, may continue to practice massage therapy pursuant to the temporary license
until any one of the following occurs:
1. Issuance of a license by
the board of massage therapy.
2. Denial of the application
by the board of massage therapy.
3. Expiration of the
temporary license.