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AB 1147 Assembly Bill-Bill Analysis Page 27 of 35 "protects the public in other ways as well. It establishes a consistent standard of practice which is enforceable by a professional code of ethics. In addition, it establishes a formal grievance process for consumers that helps prevent unethical and/or non-compliant massage therapists from continuing to practice." AB 1147 Page 36 Based on a review of the legislative history of SB 731, it does not appear that the intent of the preemption clause was to dismantle a local jurisdiction's ability to regulate massage businesses, as it would any other business. Instead, it appears to have been an attempt, however flawed, to achieve two ends: to standardize the requirements of the profession so that professionals only need meet one set of state standards, and also to ensure that local land use decisions are made in a manner that does not unduly discriminate against massage professionals. Standardization is a useful tool for local jurisdictions because it allows them to efficiently recognize an individual's certification in massage therapy having to create and administer their own duplicative certification system. The bulk of the contention over preemption does not appear to be with the imposition of a single state standard; rather, the majority of the discontent appears to stem from the perceived overbroad reach of the "protective" provisions that restrict local government's ability to utilize its full land use authorities when a massage business uses only CAMTC-certified professionals. Committee staff recommended that consideration should be given to either revising [or eliminating] the preemption language in order to return a greater degree of control to local governments in regulating massage businesses while maintaining the integrity of the statewide certification process and ensuring that massage professionals do not face undue burdens or discrimination in their practices. [ The current lanauaae in this measure reflects this recommendeg change by eliminating the current preemption language in the Act, however, the practice of massage therapists is protected and still regulated under the Act .] d) Continued Regulation by CAMTC. Background . As intended by SB 731, the health, safety and welfare of consumers would be protected through a voluntary certification of massage professionals, ensuring greater consistency and quality among professionals while giving local governments the tools to more easily identify trustworthy practitioners. The current regulatory scheme combines education, training, and background standards into a systematic formal review process whereby only those individuals who have met those standards can dutifully represent themselves as massage therapists or massage practitioners. That system would be overseen by a regulating AB 1147 Page 37 entity with a mission "to protect the public through the administration of a successful certification process." That http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/hill/asm/ab_1101-1 150/ab_l147_cfa_20140620_111[15_sen_comm.html 75/2014