01/28/2026
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FOR MASSAGE THERAPISTS!!
HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE!! 🙌🙌🙌🙌
SB136 Passed the Senate floor today with an AMAZING adjustment to our oversight!! Get ready! This is POSITIVE!!! AMAZING NEWS FOR ALABAMA MASSAGE THERAPISTS!!
The Alabama Massage Therapy Licensing Board will now become the Alabama Massage Therapy Advisory Council Through the Alabama Department of Public Health effective Oct 1, 2026.
Why is this good??
●🎉🎉The Alabama Legislature officially recognizes massage therapy as a "professional therapeutic health service," and housing it under the Department of Health reinforces its standing as a healthcare field rather than just a service industry. 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🎉🎉
â—Źâ—ŹNO MORE BOGUS RULES
â—Źâ—ŹNO MORE BOARD MEMBERS IGNORING YOU
â—Źâ—ŹNO MORE CORRUPT POWER
â—Źâ—ŹNO MORE FEES BASED ON FUNDING
â—Źâ—ŹNO MORE BOGUS BOARD MEMBERS WITH TOO MUCH POWER
â—Źâ—ŹNO MORE UNETHICAL BOARD ACTIONS
â—‹The current board members will become members of the advisory council until their terms expire.
â—ŹFor a profession that has been in "survival mode" in Alabama, this shift is intended to provide the legitimacy and law enforcement support that the independent board could not sustain.
â—ŹShifting to the DOH provides a stable, government-run infrastructure that is less likely to collapse under poor individual leadership.
â—ŹThe ADPH already coordinates daily with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) and local sheriffs on health inspections and human trafficking. By placing massage therapy under the Health Officer, reporting an illicit shop becomes a public health report, which often triggers a faster response than a simple "licensing complaint.
â—ŹThe Council: Provides the "Expertise." They tell the state what a therapist should know. The State (ADPH): Provides the "Enforcement." They handle the subpoenas, the audits, and the police coordination. This allows therapists on the council to focus on standards while the government focuses on policing.
â—ŹThe Alabama Department of Public Health provides a massive, permanent infrastructure. This ensures that when you call for a license renewal, someone actually picks up the phone and your data is stored on secure state servers
â—Ź This will significantly strengthen the regulatory net that police use to shut down illicit massage. Because we will be considered HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS (not to be confused with medical).
â—ŹUnlike the old board, which was often criticized for Open Meetings Act violations, the ADPH is a "pro machine." They must follow the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act (APA):
Public Comment Periods: They are legally required to post proposed rules and allow for a public comment period.
Public Hearings: If enough therapists demand it, they must hold a hearing. The ADPH takes these seriously because failing to follow the process can lead to lawsuits that they—as a state agency—want to avoid at all costs.
â—ŹIf the ADPH creates a rule that the industry hates, you have a clear path of escalation that didn't exist with an independent board.
â—ŹThey are much less likely to pass "whim" rules or "retaliatory" rules that sometimes happen on small, personality-driven independent boards.