It is a whirlwind of activity at the capitol, complicated by covid-19 restrictions. There is a ton going on with hearings in both the morning and afternoon. This makes it difficult to get meetings with senators and their aids. Kent and Angela, our lobbyists, are keeping up, and thank goodness for them or we would be blowing in the wind! As always, check out the GR page on our website for the most up to date info, including our bill tracker and committee contact info.
There are two hearing on Feb 3 involving massage therapy. We are not having call to actions on
these at this point. We will see how the hearings go.
1. LB 422 - imposing a sales tax on all services in the state - including healthcare which you can read here
We are included in a letter from about 70 other professions opposed to this bill
We have sent in official written testimony in opposition to this bill on the grounds this bill would create a tax for all healthcare, including massage therapy.
In Nebraska, we do not tax healthcare and doing so in the midst of, and recovery from, a pandemic is not only bad policy but contradicts Nebraska healthcare policies.
UPDATE- Sen Briese has announced he plans on healthcare being exempt. http://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=29048
2. LB263 - Universal Occupational Licensing which you can read here
We are included with around a dozen other professions in opposition to this bill
We have sent official written testimony in opposition to this bill
The USA doesn't have anything near a consistent massage therapy requirement for education or licensure, including several states with NO requirements.
Nebraska already has a fair and reasonable means of reciprocity, which is being updated to streamline the process even further. This update is awaiting final approval from the state attorney and the governor.
We are asking massage therapy be exempt from the bill
Update on LB211: Reflexology
GREAT job on the call to action! We had quite a bit of feedback from the committee members on this. Not only did you make noise, but it was a concise, on point message that made a huge impact.
The HHS Committee was very receptive to the changes we would like to see in this bill.
Senator Murman has stated his intent was not to remove reflexology from massage therapy scope of practice and he is already working on an amendment to rectify the issue.
It sounds like the committee would like to see the place of business to be registered.
We are planning on working with several of the committee members to work out issues with the education establishments and certification requirements.
We hope to have some updates on amendments soon