NY State Senate Bill 2023-S5787

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to higher education
Mar 16, 2023	referred to higher education

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2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1112
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§6512, 6513, 6514, 6515 & 6516, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: A8281

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that neither the unauthorized or unlicensed practice of massage therapy, nor aiding or abetting of unauthorized or unlicensed practice of massage therapy, shall be deemed as the crime of unauthorized practice.

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5787

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the unauthorized or
unlicensed practice of massage therapy

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to decriminalize unlicensed massage
work.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 6512 subdivision 1 of the education law to add
a new subdivision, which stipulates that unauthorized or unlicensed
practice of massage therapy is not a violation of this section.

Section 2 amends Section 6513 of the education law by adding subdivision
3, which stipulates that no one who is unauthorized or unlicensed to
practice massage therapy or anyone who aids or abets unauthorized or

unlicensed massage therapy will be in violation of the law. It addresses
other names that unauthorized or unlicensed massage workers may be
addressed by. Additionally, it stipulates that advertisement of unau-
thorized or unlicensed massage work is not in violation of the law.

Section 3 amends Section 6514 subdivision 2 of the education law related
to prosecution by the Attorney General in the name of the state for
alleged violations of article one hundred fifty-five.

Section 4 amends Section 6515 related to violations of article one
hundred fifty-five of this title occurring in cities having a population
of one million or more.

Section 5 amends Section 6516 subdivision 3 related to civil penalties
for the violation of section sixty-five hundred twelve or sixty-five
hundred thirteen of this article.

Section 6 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Massage work is an industry that has employed thousands of workers,
including in New York State for decades. According to the research
report, "Consequences of Policing Prostitution: An Analysis of Individ-
uals Arrested and Prosecuted for Commercial Sex in New York City" (Dank,
Yahner, Yu, 2017) under "New York State Education Law anyone who prac-
tices a profession in which a license is required without holding the
requisite license is guilty of either a class E felony or a class A
misdemeanor, depending on the allegations and subsection. In recent
years there have been several arrests under this statute. Those arrests
have included people offering massages without a license. The report
found "in New York City, the total number of arrests of Asian-identified
people under Sections 6512 and 6513 increased by over 1900 percent
between 2012 and 2016 (from 31 to 631). Further, the total number of
arrests of Asian-identified people charged with both unlicensed massage
and prostitution increased by 2700 percent between 2012 and 2016 (from
12 to 336)."
The criminalization of unauthorized and unlicensed massage is an exten-
sion of the ongoing plight of people in the working poor class, who are
immigrants and many who identify as women and LGBTQ. Per the report
"ninety-one percent of people arrested for unlicensed massage were
foreign nationals; 37 percent were undocumented." Additionally, a study
by the Legal Aid Society's Exploitation Intervention Project found that
in 16 percent of arrest cases related to sex work, unlicensed massage
was the top charge.

Criminalization only drives sex work into underground and illegal envi-
ronments where it is more dangerous for people in the sex trade to nego-
tiate safer and less exploitative conditions and agreements.  The prose-
cution of people in the sex trade and those who assist them in
completing their work only exacerbates the issue of human trafficking as
workers are further criminalized and as a result cut off from necessary
resources, which allows them to practice bodily autonomy and work more
safely. Sex work, in all its forms, must be decriminalized if New York
State is invested in the intersectional work of racial, social, and
economic justice.

This legislation will decriminalize unauthorized and unlicensed massage
work among consenting adults (not minors) regardless of the title
utilized by the professional. It will also decriminalize assistance of
this consensual exchange by others, including family members, friends,
and colleagues. It is time that government rid itself of the inclination
to impose what adult individuals choose to do with their bodies. Decri-
minalizing massage work is an evidence-based solution for marginalized
communities to participate in our economy and survive in society.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

SENATE:  New bill.

ASSEMBLY:

2021-22 A 8281 - Referred to higher education

 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5787
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 16, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. SALAZAR, BRISPORT, CLEARE, JACKSON, RAMOS, SEPULVEDA
   -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
   the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the education law, in relation to the unauthorized or
   unlicensed practice of massage therapy

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section 6512 of the education law, as
 amended by chapter 644 of the laws of 1979, is amended and a new  subdi-
 vision 3 is added to read as follows:
   1. Anyone not authorized to practice under this title who practices or
 offers  to  practice  or holds [himself] THEMSELVES out as being able to
 practice in any profession in which a license is a prerequisite  to  the
 practice  of  the  acts,  or  who  practices any profession as an exempt
 person  during  the  time  when  [his]  THEIR  professional  license  is
 suspended,  revoked  or  annulled,  or  who  aids or abets an unlicensed
 person to practice a  profession,  or  who  fraudulently  sells,  files,
 furnishes,  obtains, or who attempts fraudulently to sell, file, furnish
 or obtain any diploma, license, record or permit purporting to authorize
 the practice of a profession, shall be guilty of a class E felony.
   3. NEITHER THE UNAUTHORIZED OR UNLICENSED PRACTICE OF MASSAGE  THERAPY
 UNDER  ARTICLE  ONE  HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE OF THIS TITLE, NOR THE AIDING OR
 ABETTING OF UNAUTHORIZED OR UNLICENSED PRACTICE OF MASSAGE THERAPY UNDER
 ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE OF THIS TITLE, SHALL BE  A  VIOLATION  OF
 THIS SECTION.
   §  2.  Section  6513  of  the education law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3. NEITHER THE UNAUTHORIZED OR UNLICENSED PRACTICE OF MASSAGE  THERAPY
 UNDER  ARTICLE  ONE  HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE OF THIS TITLE, NOR THE AIDING OR
 ABETTING OF UNAUTHORIZED OR UNLICENSED PRACTICE OF MASSAGE THERAPY UNDER
 ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE OF THIS TITLE, SHALL BE  A  VIOLATION  OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02290-01-3

 S. 5787                             2
 
 THIS  SECTION.  NEITHER THE UNAUTHORIZED OR UNLICENSED USE OF THE TITLES
 "MASSEUR," "MASSEUSE," OR  "MASSAGE  THERAPIST"  PROHIBITED  IN  SECTION
 SEVENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED TWO OF THIS TITLE, NOR THE DESCRIPTION, ADVERTISE-
 MENT,  OR  PLACEMENT  OF AN ADVERTISEMENT OF SERVICES DEFINED IN SECTION
 SEVENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED ONE OF THIS TITLE WHERE THE SERVICES ARE PERFORMED
 BY SOMEONE UNAUTHORIZED OR UNLICENSED TO PRACTICE SUCH SERVICES, PROHIB-
 ITED BY SECTION SEVENTY-EIGHT HUNDRED TWO OF  THIS  TITLE,  SHALL  BE  A
 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION.
   § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 6514 of the education law, as amended by
 chapter 257 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  The  attorney general shall prosecute such alleged offenses in the
 name  of  the  state[,  provided,  however,  in  the  event  of  alleged
 violations  of  article one hundred fifty-five of this title, a district
 attorney may prosecute such alleged offenses in the name  of  the  state
 provided,  however,  that  any  district  attorney  may  prosecute  such
 offenses where they are incidental to a criminal prosecution  instituted
 by him under other statutes].
   §  4.  Section 6515 of the education law, as amended by chapter 615 of
 the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
   § 6515. Restraint of unlawful acts. Where a violation of this title is
 alleged to have occurred, the attorney general[,] OR the department [or,
 in the event of alleged violations of article one hundred fifty-five  of
 this  title  occurring  in  cities having a population of one million or
 more, the corporation counsel] may apply to the supreme court within the
 judicial district in which such violation is alleged  to  have  occurred
 for  an  order enjoining or restraining commission or continuance of the
 unlawful acts complained of. The remedy provided in this  section  shall
 be in addition to any other remedy provided by law or to the proceedings
 commenced against a licensee under this title.
   §  5.  Subdivision 3 of section 6516 of the education law, as added by
 chapter 615 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
   3. Civil penalties. Civil penalties up to five thousand dollars may be
 imposed for each violation  OF  SECTION  SIXTY-FIVE  HUNDRED  TWELVE  OR
 SIXTY-FIVE  HUNDRED  THIRTEEN  OF THIS ARTICLE and the respondent may be
 ordered to make restitution to any person who has  an  interest  in  any
 money  or  property, either real or personal, acquired by the respondent
 as a result of a violation. Whenever the department concludes that civil
 penalties and/or restitution may be warranted because of the  egregious-
 ness  of  the  unlawful activity, it may serve, along with the cease and
 desist order, a notice of a  hearing  on  the  allegations  of  unlawful
 activity  and the department's intention to order the respondent to make
 restitution and/or impose a civil penalty. The notice should specify the
 civil penalty sought for each violation.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S5787

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

co-Sponsors

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S5787

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Sponsored By

Julia Salazar

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

co-Sponsors

Jabari Brisport

Cordell Cleare

Robert Jackson

Jessica Ramos

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S5787 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments