velodog wrote:
I should clarify that point EvilOne, what I meant is that the professional association was trying to get minimal requirements for health & hygiene to be on a State test for a tattoo shop license. As it is apparently Barbers have to be licensed to use a razor, but tattooists do not need to in order to use a tattoo gun. Their concern is for health and so there is no outbreak of Hep C or bacterial infection hurting people and a resultant backlash.
Tattoo shops are legal here, but not regulated.
State of California AB 186, Brown.
Tattooing, body piercing, and permanent cosmetics.
Existing law provides that it is a crime to tattoo or offer to
tattoo a person under the age of 18 years.
Existing law establishes the California Conference of Local Health
Officers which consists of all legally appointed local health
officers in the state
This bill would direct the California Conference of Local Health
Officers to establish sterilization, sanitation, and safety standards
for persons engaged in the business of tattooing, body piercing, or
permanent cosmetics. The standards would be based, to the extent
appropriate, on the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard of the Department of
Industrial Relations, modified as necessary for the purpose of
protecting consumers from transmission of contagious diseases through
cross-contamination of instruments and supplies
The bill would require practitioners of tattooing, body piercing,
and permanent cosmetics to be registered with the county in which
they practice, obtain a copy of the department's standards and commit
to comply with the standards, provide the county health department
with a business address and the address at which the regulated
activities are conducted, and pay registration and inspection fees,
as specified. The bill would also require county health departments
to annually inspect the locations where tattooing, body piercing, and
permanent cosmetics are practiced, thus imposing a state-mandated
local program. Counties would be permitted to adopt any regulation
that is not in conflict with, or is more comprehensive than, these
provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 119300) is added to
Part 15 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER 7. TATTOOING, BODY PIERCING, AND PERMANENT COSMETICS
119300. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Tattooing" means to insert pigment under the surface of the
skin of a human being, by pricking with a needle or otherwise, to
produce an indelible mark or figure visible through the skin.
(b) "Body piercing" means the creation of an opening in the body
of a human being for the purpose of inserting jewelry or other
decoration. This includes, but is not limited to, piercing of an ear,
lip, tongue, nose, or eyebrow. "Body piercing" does not, for the
purpose of this chapter, include piercing an ear with a disposable,
single-use stud or solid needle that is applied using a mechanical
device to force the needle or stud through the ear.
(c) "Permanent cosmetics" means the application of pigments to or
under the skin of a human being for the purpose of permanently
changing the color or other appearance of the skin. This includes,
but is not limited to, permanent eyeliner, eye shadow, or lip color.
(d) "Department" means the State Department of Health Services.
119301. The California Conference of Local Health Officers shall
establish sterilization, sanitation, and safety standards for persons
engaged in the business of tattooing, body piercing, or permanent
cosmetics. The department shall provide the necessary resources to
support the development of these standards. The California
Conference of Local Health Officers shall consult and adopt, to the
extent appropriate, the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard (Section 5193 of
Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations) of the Department of
Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The standards shall be directed at establishment and maintenance of
sterile conditions and safe disposal of instruments. The standards
may be modified as appropriate to protect consumers from transmission
of contagious diseases through cross-contamination of instruments
and supplies. The standards shall be submitted to the department for
review and consultation by July 1, 1998.
119302. Within 30 days after standards are adopted by the
department, the department shall distribute those standards in
written form to all county health departments.
119303. (a) Every person engaged in the business of tattooing,
body piercing, or permanent cosmetics shall register by December 31,
1998, with the county health department of the county in which that
business is conducted. A registrant shall do all of the following:
(1) Obtain a copy of the department's standards from the county
health department, sign an acknowledgment upon receipt of the
standards, and commit to meet the standards.
(2) Provide the county health department with his or her business
address and the address at which the registrant performs any activity
regulated by this article.
(3) Pay a one-time registration fee of twenty-five dollars ($25),
to be paid directly to the county health department.
(4) Pay an annual inspection fee of one hundred five dollars
($105) to the county health department.
(b) This section does not preclude a county from charging an
additional amount if necessary to cover the cost of registration and
inspection.
(c) Fees established by this act shall be used exclusively in
support of activities pursuant to this chapter.
119304. Every county health department shall conduct annual
inspections of the locations at which registrants under this article
conduct regulated activities.
119305. (a) A county may adopt any regulations that do not
conflict with, or are more comprehensive than, the provisions of this
chapter or with the standards adopted by the department.
(b) This chapter does not limit a county's ability to require a
registrant to obtain any business license or permit that the county
finds appropriate.
(c) In those jurisdictions where the local health officer and the
environmental health director are in separate departments, the county
or city shall have the option to choose the entity responsible for
functions pursuant to this subdivision.
119306. A person who fails to register as provided by Section
119303 or violates the sterilization, sanitation, and safety
standards after December 31, 1998, shall be subject to a civil
penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) per violation. This penalty
may be collected in an action brought by the prosecuting attorney of
any county or city and county in which the violation occurred. All
penalties collected shall be retained by the county.
119307. On or after January 1, 1999, any person seeking to engage
in the business of tattooing, body piercing, or permanent cosmetics
shall comply with the provisions of this chapter.
119308. The president of the California Conference of Local
Health Officers shall act as the chairperson of a task force to be
formed for the purpose of recommending legislation to the Legislature
concerning licensing, training, sanitation, and other subjects
deemed necessary to protect the health and welfare of persons seeking
the services of practitioners of tattooing, body piercing, and
permanent cosmetics. The task force shall be composed of 10 persons
to be appointed by the president of the California Conference of
Local Health Officers, and shall include a representative from the
State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, a physician and surgeon
licensed in this state, a representative from a nonprofit
professional body piercers' association, a representative from a
nonprofit professional tattooists' association, a representative from
a nonprofit professional permanent cosmetic association, a
representative from a nonprofit professional cosmetology association,
and a representative from an organization representing the interests
of local health departments. The president of the California
Conference of Local Health Officers may appoint the remaining three
members from any other groups that may, in the judgment of the
president, be of assistance. The task force shall present its
recommendations to the Legislature by January 1, 1999.
119309. This chapter does not restrict the activities of any
physician and surgeon licensed under Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 2000) of Division 2.
SEC. 2. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless
otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become
operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the
California Constitution.
SEC. 3. This act shall become operative only if Assembly Bill 99
is also enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 1998.
06 May 2008, 7:38 pm
