LB 444 Committee Hearing March 4 2009
3/03/2009
NE AMTA Testimony to NE Legislature, Health & Human Services Committee
regarding LB 444, the "Escort Services Accountability and Licensing Act", March 4th, 2009
The Nebraska Chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association (NE AMTA) is opposed to LB444 due to the inclusion of language relating to the licensing of massage therapists. On page 2 of the initial copy of the bill, Section 2, subsection 2(a)(iv), "Escort" is defined as
"...an individual who agrees or offers, for consideration, to act as a companion, guide, or date for a patron or who agrees or offers to privately and for consideration... (iv) provide a massage for a patron without a massage therapy license...."
We oppose this language for the following reasons:
The State of Nebraska defines massage therapy as: "...the physical, mechanical, or electrical manipulation of soft tissue for the therapeutic purposes of enhancing muscle relaxation, reducing stress, improving circulation, or instilling a greater sense of well-being" (Title 172, Chapter 81). The inclusion of the word "massage" in LB444, therefore, creates a legal loophole for people wishing to practice massage therapy, but who do not want to adhere to the high standards for the profession set by the State of Nebraska (one of the highest standards of quality in the country).
Under this bill, anyone could pay the $1000 required to become a licensed Escort and then can legally practice massage therapy, thereby disregarding the 1000 hours of classroom training, successful completion of a nationally recognized exam, and submission to the regular scrutiny of the Nebraska Board of Massage Therapy currently required by the state. The costs for beginning and maintaining a career in massage therapy in the state of Nebraska are significantly higher than $1000. The passage of LB444 with this language would render the investments of dedication, time, and money made by all of Nebraska's licensed massage therapists utterly pointless.
The point of Senator Christensen's Bill is to regulate Escort Services, and Escort Services often advertise massage as a front for their sex trade. However, under Nebraska's Uniform Licensing Act, the means to investigate someone operating a business without a license currently exist (statutes 38-1,114; 38-1,124; and 38-1,714). These preexisting statutes already legally provide sufficient cause to investigate a business advertising massage, but suspected of providing sexual services. As such, the language referring to massage in LB444 is unnecessary to support this bill's intended effect.
By legally legitimizing, as LB444 does, massage therapy as a sexual act, this bill unwittingly seeks to undo the nearly 50 years of hard work by dedicated men and women to distance our trade from perceptions of prostitution. Massage, a safe, effective, and health promoting therapy when applied by the skilled practitioner, has been greatly maligned by a long social assumption that positive physical contact leads to moral laxity. We, who have honed our skill and dedication to the true practice of massage, and submit to the legitimate regulations of the state of Nebraska, do not make this mistake – and to the great benefit of an increasing number of Nebraskans who regularly visit licensed massage therapists.
Respectfully Submitted,
John Wolcott
Government Relations Subcommittee Chair
For the Nebraska American Massage Therapy Association
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