SENATE BILL 142

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Mimi Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO PROFESSIONAL LICENSING; REQUIRING THAT AN APPLICANT FOR A BODY ART TATTOO OR PIERCING-SCARIFICATION LICENSE BE GRANTED CREDIT FOR EQUIVALENT TRAINING OR EXPERIENCE OBTAINED OUTSIDE THE STATE; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

 

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

     SECTION 1. Section 61-17B-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 181, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:

     "61-17B-5. LICENSE--APPLICATION--REVOCATION-- SUSPENSION.--

          A. A body artist shall obtain a body art license, and an operator shall obtain a body art establishment license, the requirements for which shall be defined by the board and shall include the requirement that a body artist applicant demonstrate that the body artist has the training and experience necessary to perform body piercing, tattooing or scarification and the requirement that a sanitary and sterile body art establishment be maintained; provided that the board shall grant credit for training and experience obtained from any source, whether obtained within or outside the state, if the applicant demonstrates that the training and experience received by the applicant is equivalent to the training and experience required pursuant to the Body Art Safe Practices Act.

          B. An operator or body artist shall possess and post in a conspicuous place a valid and unsuspended license issued by the board in accordance with the Body Art Safe Practices Act and the rules promulgated pursuant to that act. An operator or a body artist shall not display a license unless it has been issued to that operator or body artist by the board and has not been suspended or revoked.

          C. An operator or body artist shall apply to the board for the issuance or renewal of a license annually and shall pay license fees established by the board. The board shall set license fees, license renewal fees and late fees in amounts necessary to administer the provisions of the Body Art Safe Practices Act. If an operator or body artist fails to renew a license for the next year, the license is void; provided that the voided license may be restored at any time during the year following the license's expiration upon the payment of the appropriate license renewal fee and a late charge not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) as set forth by board rules. If the operator or body artist fails to restore a license within one year following the license's expiration, the operator or body artist may request restoration of the license pursuant to rules promulgated by the board.

          D. The board shall promulgate rules for the revocation or suspension of a license for a body art establishment or a body artist who fails to comply with a provision of the Body Art Safe Practices Act or rules promulgated pursuant to that act. A license shall not be suspended or revoked pursuant to the Body Art Safe Practices Act without providing the operator or the body artist with an opportunity for an administrative hearing unless conditions in the body art establishment warrant immediate suspension pursuant to Section 61-17B-9 NMSA 1978. The hearing officer shall not be a person previously involved in the suspension or revocation action. An inspection made more than twenty-four months prior to the most recent inspection shall not be used as a basis for suspension or revocation.

          E. The board shall charge a fee not to exceed three hundred dollars ($300) for the application to issue a new or renewed license. The applicant shall provide proof of current immunization as required by the board and proof of the applicant's attendance at a blood-borne pathogen training program and other training as required by the board before a license is issued or renewed.

          F. A current body art license or body art establishment license shall not be transferable from one person to another.

          G. The following information shall be kept on the premises of a body art establishment and shall be available for inspection by the board:

                (1) the full names of all employees in the establishment and their exact duties;

                (2) the board-issued license with identification photograph for the operator and any body artists;

                (3) the body art establishment name and hours of operation;

                (4) the name and address of the operator;

                (5) a complete description of all body art performed at the body art establishment;

                (6) a list of all instruments, body jewelry, sharps and inks used at the body art establishment, including names of manufacturers and serial or lot numbers or invoices or other documentation sufficient to identify and locate the manufacturer of those items; and

                (7) a current copy of the Body Art Safe Practices Act.

          H. An operator shall notify the board in writing not less than thirty days before changing the location of a body art establishment. The notice shall include the street address of the body art establishment's new location."

     SECTION 2. Section 61-17B-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2015, Chapter 129, Section 6) is amended to read:

     "61-17B-15. BOARD CREATED--MEMBERSHIP.--

          A. The "board of body art practitioners" is created. The board is administratively attached to the regulation and licensing department and consists of five members appointed by the governor. Members shall serve three-year terms; provided that at the time of initial appointment, the governor shall appoint members to abbreviated terms to allow for the terms of subsequent appointments to be staggered. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment.

          B. Of the five members of the board, [four] two shall be licensed pursuant to the Body Art Safe Practices Act and shall have at least five years' practical experience in their occupations. Of those [four, two members] two, one member shall be [operators] an operator and [two members] one member shall be a body [artists] artist. The remaining [one member] three members shall be [a] public [member] members. The public [member] members shall not have ever been licensed pursuant to the provisions of the Body Art Safe Practices Act or similar prior legislation or have a financial interest in a body art establishment.

          C. Members of the board shall be reimbursed pursuant to the Per Diem and Mileage Act and shall receive no other compensation, perquisite or allowance.

          D. The board shall elect from among its members a chair and such other officers as it deems necessary. The board shall meet at the call of the chair, not less than two times each year. A majority of members currently serving constitutes a quorum for the conduct of business.

          E. A board member shall not serve more than two full consecutive terms, and a member who fails to attend three meetings shall automatically be recommended for removal unless the member's absence is excused for reasons set forth by board rule."

     SECTION 3. TEMPORARY PROVISION--BOARD MEMBERS.--On or after the effective date of this act, the governor shall appoint two public members to serve on the board, one of whom shall replace one operator member and one of whom shall replace one body artist member so that the board shall be composed of three public members and two members licensed pursuant to the Body Art Safe Practices Act. The terms of the members shall remain staggered.

     SECTION 4. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.