Board Operations

Board Operations. A. The Board shall: 1. Adopt an official seal and keep a record of its proceedings, persons licensed as massage therapists, and a record of the licenses that have been revoked or suspended; 2. Keep on file all appropriate records pertaining to each license; 3. Annually, on or before February 15, make a report to the governor and Legislature of all of its official acts during the preceding year, its total receipts and disbursements and a full and complete report of relevant statistical and significantly notable conditions of massage therapist in this state as uniformly stipulated by the Board; 4. Evaluate the qualifications of applicants for licensure under this act, and advise applicants as to the acceptance or denial of licensure with any reasons for denial within forty-five (45) days; 5. Issue licenses to applicants who meet the requirements of the Board; 6. Inspect, or have inspected, when required, the business premises of any licensed massage therapist during their operating hours, so long as such inspection does not infringe on the reasonable privacy of any therapists’ clients; 7. Establish minimum training and educational standards for obtaining a license, provided that requirements do not decrease; 8. Establish a procedure for approval of educational standards; 9. Investigate persons suspected of engaging in practices which may violate provisions of the law, rules and regulations governing massage therapists; 10. Revoke, suspend or deny a license in accordance with the provisions of the law, rules and regulations governing massage therapists; 11. Adopt an annual budget; 12. Establish policies with respect to continuing education; 13. Adopt rules: a. Specifying standards and procedures for issuance of provisional license and provisional permit; b. Specifying license procedures for practitioners desiring to be licensed in this state who hold an active license or credentials from another state Board; c. The Board shall prescribe renewal procedures, requirements, dates and fees for massage therapy licenses issued by the Board and shall include provisions for inactive, retired, and lapsed licenses; d. Make available all forms necessary for carrying out all provisions of this act and any and all necessary business of the Board; e. Establish written duties of the executive director; f. Establish a set of reasonable and customary fines and penalties for violations of this act, and fees, including refund policies, which shall be standardized and not exceeded unless amended with at least thirty (30) days’ notice to those who are licensed; g. Establish, amend or repeal any rules or regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of the law, rules and regulations governing massage therapists. Affected practitioners shall be sent relevant changes no less than once per license renewal; h. The Board shall maintain a current register listing the name of every massage therapist licensed to practice in this state, his/her last known place of business and the last known place of residence, and the date and number of his/her license. B. The Board will hold at least four (4) regular meetings each year. Additional meetings may be called by the Chair of the Board or at the written request of a majority of the Board. C. Meeting dates, times, and locations are published in the Board’s minutes. D. An organizational meeting shall be held in January of even numbered years for the purpose of electing officers. E. All meetings of the Board are open to the public, and citizens are encouraged to attend meetings. The following regulation is enacted for the purpose of providing reasonable written procedures concerning the cost, time, place, and method of access, under the provisions of the Mississippi Public Record Act of 1983 (Open Records Act). It is not intended that these procedures shall apply to any public record or other document, which is exempt from the provisions of said Act or not covered by the provisions of the Open Records Act. 1. Any individual seeking to inspect, copy or mechanically reproduce or obtain a reproduction of any public record of the board should make a written request, signed by themselves to be mailed to the Executive Director, Mississippi State Board of Massage Therapy, Post Office Box 20, Morton, MS 39117. 2. The written request must be typed or clearly hand printed on a letter size piece of paper and shall specify in detail the public record sought. The request should include, if possible, a description of the type of record, dates, title of a publication, and other information which may aid in locating the record. 3. The written request must specify what the applicant proposes to do with the record, i.e., inspect, copy, etc. state the date and time for the proposed activity; state the number of persons scheduled to participate; and shall provide the name, address, and home and office telephone number of the applicant. 4. The Executive Director, upon receipt of any such request, shall review same and determine whether the records sought are exempt under the Mississippi Public Records Act, and shall either produce records or access to records or deny access to or production of the records sought within seven (7) working days from the date of the receipt of the request for the production of the record. If the Board is unable to produce a public record by the seventh working day after the request is made, the Board will provide a written explanation to the person making the request stating that the record requested will be produced and specifying with particularity why the records cannot be produced within the seven-day period. Unless there is a mutual agreement of the parties, in no event shall the date for the Board’s production of the request records be any later than fourteen (14) working days from the receipt of the original request. 5. All inspection, copying or mechanical reproduction shall be done in the offices of the Board or such other reasonable place within the State of Mississippi as may be designated by the Board. It shall be the duty of the applicant to contact the Executive Director by phone before noon of the first working day preceding the proposed date set out in the application to determine if same is acceptable and, if not, what date and/or time will be substituted. 6. Where possible, nonexempt material will be separated from exempt material and only the exempt material will be withheld. 7. If the Executive Director determines that the records requested are exempt or privileged under the law, she shall deny the request and shall send the person making the request a statement of the specific exemption relied upon by the Board for the denial. Such denials shall be kept on file for inspection by any person for three (3) years. This file shall be made available for inspection or copying or both during regular office hours to any person upon written request. 8. The Executive Director is authorized to calculate the estimated cost of searching, obtaining from storage, reviewing, shipping and/or duplicating records and to require payment in advance of such estimated charges prior to complying with the request. There shall be a charge of $0.50 per page for each copy. Copies printed on both sides (front & back) shall be considered as two pages for copy charge purposes. Mailing cost shall be calculated at the applicable rate for each such mailing. If request involves notice to be given to a third party, the cost of mailing such notice via certified mail return receipt requested shall be charged to the person requesting such public records. In the event the actual cost of such activity exceeds the estimate, the Executive Director is authorized to withhold mailing or delivery of said documents or to delay the inspection until the difference is paid. 9. There shall be no charge for inspection of the current Board’s records maintained at the Board office. Cost of obtaining records from any state storage facilities and the search for it shall be charged to the applicant. 10. The Executive Director may waive any or all of the foregoing requirements related to written notice, time, and method of access prepayment of expenses whenever the determination is made that such waiver would be in the public interest. F. Information regarding the Board’s activities, submissions to the Board, and requests of the Board should be made in writing to the Board. G. Individuals who wish to be included on the Board’s agenda must submit a written request to the Board on the Agenda Request form provided by the Board. The Board must receive this request at least ten (10) working days prior to the regularly scheduled Board meeting. H. The board will review only complete applications for licensure. Incomplete applications will be returned to the applicant. I. The Board may deny initial application for licensure or license renewal for the following reasons, including, but not limited to: 1. Failure to meet all requirements for licensure; 2. Failure to pay required fees; 3. Conviction of a felony other than a violation of federal or State tax laws; 4. Unacceptable or unlicensed practice of the applicant; 5. Violation of the ethical code; 6. Declaration of mental incompetence by the court.