SF Ordinance Summary of Changes

September 13, 2004 DPH Public Hearing #2 Results

Greetings SFOrdinance ListMembers,

This morning, the Department of Public Health held their second Public Hearing on the new regulations governing massage businesses and practitioners in San Francisco.

The meeting was mostly attended by the adult entertainment end of the spectrum, as well as those who support or provide services to their workers, and those who would like to see these folks removed completely from the scene. Since our group didn't find out about the meeting until last Friday, it was no surprise that the therapeutic community was not as well represented as at the last meeting.

Dr. Johnson Ojo went over the current version of the DPH Rules and Regulations regarding massage. Here are three of the important points he made regarding exemptions, background checks, and transfer of existing permits.

Practitioner Exemptions
The City Attorney's office has determined that certain "brand name" modalities do not fall under the jurisdiction of the law, including Reiki, Polarity, Touch for Health, Jin Shin Do, Feldenkrais, and Body-Mind Centering.

In addition, dance therapists and teachers, yoga teachers, personal trainers, and martial arts instructors are also exempt, as long as the client contact the are doing falls within the scope of their normal training and practice. That simply means that you cannot run a massage practice under the guise of being a personal trainer.

Background Checks
DPH is required to do background checks on every applicant. These checks are typically done through a computerized criminal records system called "LiveScan." DPH determined that the cost of buying the system ($20,000) and implementing it (two full-time staffers) was prohibitive.

Consequently, every new applicant will have to submit a LiveScan clearance report from either the SF Police Department (about $43; takes 2-3 weeks), any other police department in the state, or from private companies (which general charge twice as much as the police department, but have a faster processing time). Finger printing will be required.

Transferring Current Permits
If you hold a current "Masseur/Masseusse" license from the Tax Collector, it is imperative that you transfer your practitioner permit to the Department of Public Health before October 1st. [Note: Deadline extendeto November 1st] If you do, you will not have to pay any DPH fees, you will not need to pay for a LiveScan background check, and you will not need to retake the written exam. This is a huge benefit, so DO IT NOW!!!

You will still have to provide your current Tax Collector's license, your original massage school Diploma or Certificate of Completion (they will make a copy), and turn in your Police Department permit and photo ID. Also, don't forget to take along your California Drivers license or Photo ID.

Dr. Johnson said that he was trying to rectify the mistake of not sending out a mailing to the current massage practitioner license-holders. He anticipated receiving a usable name and address list from the Tax Collector and having a mailing sent in the next two days. I have asked Supervisor Daly's office to monitor this. If the notice is not in the mail by the end of this week, I will be asking for your support in getting the Supervisor to introduce a motion to extend the deadline at least another month.

One More Thing...
As we knew would eventually happen, the media is beginning to sniff out various stories in this process. This will turn out to be a mixed bag, as always, but we will try to use it to our advantage. For example, the big outstanding issue for us is Advanced Practitioners (the 200-hour level) not being able to work in a residential-zoned district, effectively forcing all private practice out of the home to be illegal. While this has always been the case, without changing the Zoning Code, it makes it very difficult for therapeutic practitioners to survive. Some publicity on this issue may help to move the Board of Supervisors to resolve this issue for us.

Finally, if you have made it this far, I want to announce that I have started a feedback section on the www.sfordinance.com website that you can access through the home page. I need to document your actual experiences with the new system under DPH. I am posting issues that you can comment on, anonymously, if you prefer. This will help tremendously in educating all of us, including DPH the Board of Supervisors, and myself, about what is actually going on in the "real world."

You can also continue to send me private email or call me directly, but consider giving the new forum a try.

In touch,
David Palmer
www.sfordinance.com
415-861-0443

P.S. As always, please feel free to forward this email to your colleagues or constituents and encourage them to sign up on the website so they are kept up-to-date.

SF Massage Ordinance Updates