House Bill 5948 would enact the Interstate Massage Compact in Michigan and amend the Public Health Code to recognize multistate massage therapy licenses. The compact is designed to let qualified massage therapists practice in participating states under a single multistate license, while preserving each state’s authority over scope of practice, discipline, and enforcement. It also creates an Interstate Massage Compact Commission to administer the compact, adopt rules, maintain a shared data system, and coordinate investigations and disciplinary reporting among member states.
Under the bill, Michigan would have to meet compact participation requirements such as licensing and regulating massage therapy, using a national exam, conducting background checks, maintaining continuing competence requirements, and sharing disciplinary and investigative information. To qualify for a multistate license, an applicant must hold an active home-state license, meet education or experience thresholds, pass the national exam, submit to a background check, and avoid certain recent criminal convictions or prior disciplinary histories. The bill also gives special treatment to active-duty military members and their spouses, allowing them to designate a home state and use their education to satisfy compact requirements.
The bill would add new sections to the Public Health Code and amend the massage therapy licensing provisions so that a person holding a multistate license under the compact is authorized to practice massage therapy in Michigan and is treated as a licensed massage therapist under state law. It would also supersede conflicting state laws to the extent necessary to implement the compact, while leaving nonconflicting state regulation in place. In practical terms, Michigan’s licensing system would become part of a multistate regulatory framework for massage therapy, with new obligations for information sharing, background checks, disciplinary reporting, and recognition of out-of-state compact licenses.
The bill text reflects a generally supportive, pro-mobility approach to occupational licensing, emphasizing public access, workforce mobility, military spouse portability, and stronger tools to prevent trafficking and licensure fraud. Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no direct evidence of debate or formal opposition in the available materials. The overall tone of the legislation is regulatory and collaborative rather than controversial, with repeated statements preserving state enforcement authority to reassure member states and regulators.
The main points of potential contention are the balance between interstate license portability and state control, the breadth of the compact commission’s rulemaking and enforcement powers, and the extent to which member-state laws are preempted when they conflict with compact rules. Another likely issue is the compact’s disciplinary and data-sharing regime, including background checks, reporting of investigative information, and automatic deactivation of practice authority across states after adverse action. Stakeholders most likely to support the bill are massage therapists seeking mobility, military families, and compact proponents; likely concerns would come from state regulators, privacy advocates, and those wary of ceding authority to an interstate commission.