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Government Relations Report:
June 22, 2025
Ann Boone, LMT
Government Relations Chair
Welcome to Summer!
June 1st marks the start of the Interim Legislative calendar. This period in the legislature ends on December 1st. This is a period when legislators, and the committees or other groups they are involved with in state and local government, meet to work on any laws they’d like to bring forward as bills in the regular session.
As always, Bob Babbage and his Babbage Cofounder group are working hard for the AMTA to lobby for issues affecting the Massage Therapy industry in Kentucky and Nationally.
The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) has been collaborating in partnership with the Council of State Governments (CSG) and Department of Defense (DoD) to promote the Interstate Massage Compact (aka IMpact) which has been finalized and is available for enactment per the massage compact’s website. For the Compact to be fully implemented, it must be enacted into law state by state, with 7 states necessary to put it into action. Kentucky is currently opposed to a few key points in the bill. James Specker, AMTA National Government Relations chair, members the Babbage Cofounder group and I will be going over those points in the weeks to come. We will update our Kentucky members with more details at that time.
The language of the bill can be found here: Interstate Massage Compact Model Legislation.
The Kentucky Board for Licensing in Massage Therapy (KBLMT) is also in continuing talks with the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners (KBVE) with regards to animal massage certification in Kentucky. There are no new developments per Karen Frazier, Vice Chair of the KBLMT and KBVE/KBLMT liaison. We are receiving regular updates from her with regards to a timeline for the enactment of this certification.
If you, or other therapists you know, are currently practicing animal massage or are interested in doing so, please contact the KBVE at KBVE.ky.gov to get on their mailing list for updates.
Lastly, we are hopeful that the Healthcare Research and Advocacy Committee (HARC) will be able to move forward and meet at the AMTA National Convention in August in New Orleans. HARC was formed to elevate the massage profession through advocating best practices as supported by research. This also included continuing to research the best way to increase the educational standards of practice for the Massage Therapy profession. The committee was put on hold while the AMTA, and many other state Massage Therapy programs, figured out how to negotiate the Federal Department of Education’s attempt at eliminating the 150% rule, which affects vocational programs, including massage therapy programs, who offer Title IV funding (i.e. Pell Grants, educational loans, etc). Information on this change, which was set to be fully implemented on July 1, 2024, can be found on the AMTA website at: amtamassage.org.
Looking forward to seeing everyone in Dallas in August!
In health,
Ann E. Boone, LMT
BCTMB, MLD-C, MTPT
Remember: Please continue to check the KBLMT website for any updates (bmt.ky.gov).
We will share updates as we receive them as well.
If you have any further questions, please contact Ann E. Boone, LMT at grchair@amtaky.org.
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