Santa Barbara should reject the proposed ordinance requiring California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) certification for all massage therapists. This certification should remain voluntary, as was intended when CAMTC was created in 2009.
CAMTC itself notes that it is “not a law enforcement agency nor government agency.” As a private nonprofit, CAMTC is not subject to public records laws, due process requirements, or democratic oversight. CAMTC should not function as an equivalent to a state licensing board unless it adopts the same standards of transparency and checks on its authority.
Supporters of mandatory CAMTC certification frame it as a public safety measure. But forcing every massage therapist to obtain certification from a private nonprofit gives extraordinary power over people’s livelihoods to an organization dogged by allegations of discrimination, arbitrary decision-making, and failure to adhere to its own stated processes…