Action Alert

AMTA-IA ACTION ALERT Advocate: Be a Part of It, Take Action

It is essential for all members to engage in our advocacy efforts to ensure the oversight and protection of our industry. Below you will find detailed information about our 2019 legislative agenda. We have two issues that we are asking the legislature to address. They include addressing the Iowa Supreme Court ruling that decriminalized practicing massage therapy without a license and cleaning up the 2017 law that allowed cities to enact local ordinances against legitimate massage therapy businesses. Correcting these issues will make a significant difference in how we are able to do business in Iowa. Thank you in advance for adding your voice to this cause and taking action! Please feel free to contact your leaders at AMTA Iowa for additional information.

2019 Policy Agenda

Fix Iowa Supreme Court Ruling That Decriminalized Practice Without a License The Iowa Supreme Court recently ruled that practicing massage therapy without a license is not a crime. This

ruling prevents law enforcement from obtaining search and arrest warrants against bad actors that may be using illegitimate massage businesses as fronts for human trafficking. AMTA asks the Iowa legislature to fix Iowa’s code by providing a criminal penalty for practicing without a license, thereby ensuring we have an effective tool to combat human trafficking, and furthering safe and ethical practices in our industry.

Empower Local Officials The 2017 General Assembly allowed cities to enact local ordinances against legitimate massage businesses in an

effort to combat human trafficking. Many cities, since that legislation passed, have enacted new and widely varying ordinances against massage businesses to address these issues. The ordinances vary widely in scope and impact, forcing businesses to confront duplicate regulation between existing state regulation and local ordinances. The goals of local human trafficking ordinances can be accomplished by simply empowering local officials to enforce existing state laws and regulations concurrently with state regulators. The AMTA asks the Legislature to explicitly allow local governments to do so, while limiting their ability to enact ordinances that are different or needlessly duplicative on legitimate, state-licensed businesses.

Talking Points Combat human ● trafficking

Des Moines has been named a top 100 human trafficking site.

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  • Illicit businesses often masquerade as massage clinics.
  • Requiring massage therapy licensure makes it harder to open fronts for illicit activities, and also gives law enforcement a tool for shutting them down. Empower local officials to enforce state-level regulations
  • The state heavily regulates massage therapy already.
  • Unlike most industries, massage therapists are regulated by the state and, potentially, by local governments. Some of these local regulations are needlessly duplicative or more onerous and contrary to state law.

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Des Moines Register http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2016/11/16/des-moines-identified-top- 100-human-trafficking-site/93952890/

  • To help combat human trafficking, the Legislature should empower local officials to enforce existing state laws and regulations that governor massage therapists. The Iowa Department of Public Health has two full-time regulators on staff, which isn’t enough. But empowering local officials to enforce state law will ensure compliance and combat human trafficking while giving legitimate massage therapists one set of uniform laws to follow. Contacting your Legislators: How to Do It
  1. Find your legislators (if you do not already know who they are)

To find your State Senator & Representative, go to The Iowa Legislature website and enter your address: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find

  1. Contact your legislator (sample on previous page)
  1. Report back to AMTA Iowa Chapter

What else you can do:

  • Connect with them on social media
  • Call when there is an issue of concern or need for support
  • Attend local forums, town halls and other meetings in the district The KEY to being a successful advocate for AMTA-IA is to communicate and build relationships. When you do…YOU become the TRUSTED Expert!

Sample Message

It is important to contact YOUR state legislators (Representative and Senator) and ask them to support AMTA’s legislative priorities: Please see the sample email below. WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND you personalize the email message with the number of years you have been practicing, identify the community that you live in and provide insight into your work as a massage therapist.

SAMPLE Email Message: Please Personalize. SUBJECT LINE: Introducing the Massage Therapy Profession

Dear Representative/Senator (Last Name),

I am a licensed massage therapist in your district practicing at (name the location/facility or organization). I wanted to reach out to introduce myself and provide background on legislative issues that are important to the massage

therapy profession. As a member of the American Massage Therapy Association’s Iowa Chapter and as a licensed massage therapist in your district, please consider me a resource on these issues.

Massage therapy can improve overall health and wellness through its effects on the physical, mental and social well-being of an individual. In a recent study conducted by the American Massage Therapy Association, seventy-two percent of individuals responded that medical issues and stress were the primary reason for receiving a massage. Massage therapy remains a growing and accessible source of healthcare and pain management in Iowa and across the country. In fact, it has been noted as one of the therapies that is quickly replacing the need for opioid use in pain management.

AMTA-Iowa has two legislative priorities. First, we need to fix the law that caused the Iowa Supreme Court to find that practicing massage therapy without license is not a crime. Second, we should empower local governments to enforce existing state laws and regulations concurrently with state regulators.

The Iowa Supreme Court recently ruled that practicing massage therapy without a license is not a crime. This ruling prevents law enforcement from obtaining search and arrest warrants against bad actors that may be using illegitimate massage businesses as fronts for human trafficking. AMTA asks the Iowa legislature to fix Iowa’s code by providing a criminal penalty for practicing without a license, thereby ensuring we have an effective tool to combat human trafficking, and furthering safe and ethical practices in our industry.

The 2017 General Assembly allowed cities to enact local ordinances against legitimate massage businesses in an effort to combat human trafficking. Since that legislation passed, many cities have enacted new and widely varying ordinances against massage businesses to address these issues. The ordinances vary widely in scope and impact, forcing businesses to confront different regulations between cities and the state. The goals of local human trafficking ordinances can be accomplished by simply empowering local officials to enforce existing state laws and regulations concurrently with state regulators. The AMTA asks the Legislature to explicitly allow local governments to do so, while limiting their ability to enact ordinances that are different or needlessly duplicative on legitimate, state-licensed businesses.

There are over 3,000 license massage therapists in Iowa. It is absolutely essential to ensure that licensed massage therapists, like myself, are held to a statewide standard to protect the people of Iowa. Thank you for your consideration of this information, please let me know if there is anything else that I can provide. I look forward to working with you on this issue and others as they arise. Thank you in advance for your response.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME ADDRESS/PHONE/EMAIL