Here is what happened at the board meeting today!
It was reported that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) read the 400+ letters from the public and made a recommendation to the board to make the increase gradual, over the next 3 renewal periods. Their recommendation was to raise it to $125 for the January 2019 renewal, $150 for Jan 2021 and $175 for Jan 2023.
The report went to the Bureau of finance and operations (BFO), which agreed with IRRC. The BFO made a presentation today at the meeting outlining the budget for the massage board that reflected these incremental increases.
The board then had to vote on whether to keep the proposal at $200 or implement these increases recommended by IRRC. With a unanimous decision, they voted to change the proposal to reflect the incremental increases over the next 3 renewal periods!
But that does not mean that this is what's going to happen! I want you to understand that this is a proposal for new legislation that needs to be approved by the House and the Senate of the Pennsylvania State Legislature. The board is now charged with getting the proposal to the House and Senate for a vote. In order for this new increase to be implemented in time for our renewal this coming January, the state legislature needs to approve this soon.
In short, the fee COULD be raised to $125 if it is done in time. If it is not, the fee will be $75.
One more thing regarding the renewal this year. There will be no applications accepted through the US Mail Service! All massage license renewal applications will be handled online! It was suggested by the board that massage therapist should start to go online, create an account or sign in to your account that you created at list renewal, and make sure your email address is up-to-date! Also, when you are signed in, you will be able to see whether or not your child abuse continuing education was completed or not. So check and verify that while you are there!
The web address is www.pals.pa.gov. click register if you do not already have an account. Click login to sign into your account.
