HB 847

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AN ACT

RELATING TO LICENSING; EXEMPTING PRACTITIONERS OF CERTAIN

HEALING MODALITIES FROM THE MASSAGE THERAPY PRACTICE ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 61-12C-5.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws

2001, Chapter 121, Section 1) is amended to read:

"61-12C-5.1. EXEMPTIONS.--Nothing in the Massage

Therapy Practice Act shall be construed to prevent:

A. qualified members of other recognized

professions that are licensed or regulated under New Mexico

law from rendering services within the scope of their licenses

or regulations; provided they do not represent themselves as

massage therapists;

B. students from rendering massage therapy

services within the course of study of an approved massage

therapy school and under the supervision of a licensed massage

therapy instructor;

C. visiting massage therapy instructors from

another state or territory of the United States, the District

of Columbia or a foreign nation from teaching massage therapy;

provided the instructor is duly licensed or registered, if

required, and is qualified in the instructor's place of

residence for the practice of massage therapy. The board

shall establish by rule the duration of stay for a visiting

massage therapy instructor; and

D. sobadores; Hispanic traditional healers; Native

American healers; reflexologists whose practices are limited

to hands, feet and ears; practitioners of polarity, Trager

approach, Feldenkrais method, craniosacral therapy, Rolfing

structural integration, reiki, ortho-bionomy or ch'i gung; or

practitioners of healing modalities not listed in this

subsection who do not manipulate the soft tissues for

therapeutic purposes from practicing those skills. An exempt

practitioner who applies for a license or registration

pursuant to the Massage Therapy Practice Act shall comply with

all licensure requirements of that act."

HB 847

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