A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to expand the massage and bodywork therapy board to include an establishment owner.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 90‑625(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The North Carolina Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy is created. The Board shall consist of eight members who are residents of this State and are as follows:
(1)	Five members shall be massage and bodywork therapists who have been licensed under this Article and have been in the practice of massage and bodywork therapy for at least five of the last seven years prior to their serving on the Board. Consideration shall be given to geographical distribution, practice setting, clinical specialty, involvement in massage and bodywork therapy education, and other factors that will promote diversity of the profession on the Board. Two of the five members shall be appointed by the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, two shall be appointed by the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and one shall be appointed by the Governor.
(2)	One member shall be a physician licensed pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes or a person once licensed as a physician whose license lapsed while the person was in good standing with the profession and eligible for licensure. The appointment shall be made by the Governor and may be made from a list provided by the North Carolina Medical Society.
(3)	One member shall be a member of the general public who shall not be licensed under Chapter 90 of the General Statutes or the spouse of a person who is so licensed, or have any financial interest, directly or indirectly, in the profession regulated under this Article. The appointment shall be made by the Governor.
(4)	One member shall be an individual who is currently licensed to operate a massage and bodywork therapy establishment under this Article. The appointment shall be made by the Governor."
SECTION 2.  The initial term of office for the member to be appointed by the Governor under G.S. 90‑625(a)(4), as enacted by Section 1 of this act, shall begin on July 1, 2019, and shall expire on June 30, 2022. If at the time of the appointment, the Board has not begun to issue any licenses to operate a massage and bodywork therapy establishment, the appointee shall be a current owner of a massage and bodywork therapy establishment.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.