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New Law Regulation Tattoo and Body Art Establishments
By Rachel Carlson, LMC Staff
Attorney,http://lmccodification.blogspot.com Summary of the New
Law
Beginning July 1, 2010 the State of Minnesota will step into the
realm of regulating bodyart which includes tattooing and body
piercing, scarification and body modificationsuch as tongue
bifurcation (herein after referred to collectively as body art).
See MNLaws 2010 Chapter 317 (a link may be found at the end of this
entry).
The state will offer two types of licensure licenses for
establishments where body art isconducted and licenses for persons
performing body art procedures in theseestablishments. To do this
type of work everyone must be licensed - without exception -across
the state.
How the New Law Effects Cities
Cities that previously regulated body art establishments may
continue to do so if theirlocal ordinances are as strict as the
state requirements. It should be noted thatestablishments in cities
with local ordinances will not need to obtain the new
statelicense.
Cities may not continue to license persons practicing body art.
These practitioners mustnow be licensed exclusively by the
state.
Cities may continue to enforce zoning, building and construction
requirements,nuisance control and commercial licensing of
businesses in general without interruption
against body art establishments.
How Should Cities Respond to the New Law?
The new law means that city councils will probably have to spend
some time thinkingabout tattoos, piercings and tongue bifurcation.
Maybe that isnt exactly a happythought.
All body art practitioners and establishments will need to
obtain a new state license byJanuary 1, 2011. If they fail to
obtain a license, they may no longer legally perform theirservices
in the State of Minnesota. They may also face stiff penalties for
failing to
comply.
With the new state regulation hanging over their heads, body art
establishment ownerslocated in your city may start visiting city
hall with some questions. For example, incities that already
regulate body art establishments, the owner may be asking 1) do
localstandards meet the new state standards? 2) do I need to get a
local license now or a statelicense?
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Cities that currently do not license body art establishments may
get requests that thecity start regulating this area. Often local
business owners prefer to deal with a cityentity rather than a
state entity. The establishment owner might view city regulation
asless expensive, easier to obtain licenses and/or easier to
negotiate any future difficultiesthat may arise.
The Most Important Question: Do We Still Want to Regulate
This?
Even if the city doesnt get these questions from local body art
establishment owners,the city council may still need to review
local ordinance. The most important question toask is: do we still
want to regulate this? In my experience, cities are reluctant
regulatorson this topic. Most of the cities that have called me for
sample ordinances on theseestablishments were surprised to learn
that the state wasnt already heavily regulatingbody art.
Some other questions that it might be worthwhile to consider
are:
Can we do this as well as the state? If the state is willing to
regulate this area, is it worth the expense for us to
regulatelocally? Do we want (or currently have) stricter standards
than what the state requires? Willstate regulation be adequate to
protect resident safety? If our current ordinance is less
restrictive than the state requirements, are we willingto commit to
amending the local ordinance to bring it up to snuff? If local
ordinance is currently less restrictive, are we interested in
having staff assumenew duties related to inspection and license
issuance?
If the city wishes to continue to regulate this area, the new
law must be reviewedcarefully and compared to the existing
ordinance particularly the health and safetystandards portion and
the sections regulating home businesses. The city may havestricter
standards than the state law. In addition, a city may choose via
local ordinanceto limit the types of body art procedures that may
be performed in body artestablishments located within its
jurisdiction. (See Minn. Law Chapter 317, Section 2,Subdivision 9).
This feature may be an argument for some cities to maintain their
localordinances.
Key Features of the New Law for Establishments
Under the new law, body art establishments may obtain a license
good for three (3)years. With each new license issued, an
inspection must be performed. Thereafter,inspections must occur at
least once during the three year licensure period.
The law itself must me read for the detailed provisions on
procedures and healthstandards. Some key items, however, include
the following. Establishments must:
Meet all local and state health and safety codes for buildings
and not constitute a
