Here's a few items that spilled over from our home page. They may not have been updated recently, so clicker beware.
The following articles give a number of viewpoints about the licensing issue that haven't been given enough consideration in the debate. The opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of this web master. Food for thought...
Bodywork Licensure Attempts at State Capitol, 1998 -- by Catherine Schluter. Appeared originally (in a shortened form) in the March 98 issue of Twin City Wellness.
Let me give a quick plug for the bills HF0422 and SF0474, which would remove the MN 7% sales tax for all "vitamin, mineral, and whole food supplements intended for use by human beings." This bill needs to get hearings in the Tax committees of the House and Senate. To find out more about this issue, email bspielmann@csom.umn.edu .
Some interesting ideas have passed through the grapevine that could come in useful down the road. If you can advance any of these ideas, go for it!
* Someone noticed that Representatives tend to listen more to "the folks back home" in their district than "the small group of trouble-makers" in the Twin Cities area. Find out where the home districts are in the state for the Representatives of the House Health and Human Services Committee; ditto the other committees and the Senate, too. If you know friends and other sympathetic people in these areas, contact them, educate them about the bill, and get them to contact legislators and pass on the word. We'll be more convincing in the legislature if it looks like we have a broad based support.
* There's a mail group online discussing massage/bodywork related topics. It's not focused just on legislation, but takes a wider view of the field. I haven't checked it out, but it could be a useful and interesting forum. To subscribe, send a blank email to Body_Work-subscribe@egroups.com or go to the "Body_Work" section at www.egroups.com.
* Start working with the Minnesota Natural Health Coalition (612-721-3305), another group interested in alternative medicine issues in the state and the driving force behind HF0537.
Revision date: 2001-9-23
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