Tracking Bills That Matter: How California law creates power outside the State

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) — California has more than 150,000 laws on the books, governing everything from environmental policy to school lunch menus. But laws don’t enforce themselves.

According to Chris Micheli, an adjunct law professor at the McGeorge School of Law, when lawmakers want to solve a problem or regulate an industry, they often write bills that create entire agencies, boards, or councils to carry out and enforce the law.

“We’ve created all of these agencies and departments and boards and commissions to do that work of running the government for the state of California,” Micheli said. “That’s the executive branch’s job—to interpret, apply, and enforce what the Legislature passes.”

Most of the time, those oversight bodies are traditional state agencies. They’re staffed by public employees, accountable to the governor, and bound by transparency laws —but not always.

Sometimes, a bill creates a group that’s outside the government entirely, a private nonprofit, for example, but still gives it state-authorized power.

One example is the California Massage Therapy Council. It’s not a state agency. Created by state law in 2009, it has the authority to certify massage therapists and approve massage schools across the state. CAMTC is currently up for sunset review, and AB 1504 would extend its authority through 2030.

The council’s decisions have real-world consequences. Dana Ball is the president of a massage therapy school in South Carolina. She said one of her former students recently moved to California and applied to CAMTC for certification. The student provided her work experience, training curriculum and recent continuing education required for renewing her South Carolina massage therapy license. CAMTC said it wasn’t enough. 

“She is being told that she has to go to school again,” Ball said. “The only schools that are near her do not allow her to just get the hours that she needs supervised, so she would have to go to school all over again, which is arguably 10 ,11, $15,000 when she’s done that already.”

According to Ball, the student met the state’s requirements for training hours and had been working legally in another state. But CAMTC’s internal policies allowed them to reject her application.

“It’s written as voluntary, but when nearly every city requires CAMTC certification, it becomes mandatory,” Ball said. “And the decision was made by a group with no public oversight.”

Although the statute does require CAMTC to comply with specific transparency measures, like California’s open meetings law and periodic legislative reviews, it’s not subject to the same level of oversight as traditional state agencies, which are staffed by public employees, overseen by the governor and bound by broader public accountability laws. This structure is uncommon. Micheli called it an “anomaly.”

“The vast majority of professions are licensed and regulated by public entities under the Department of Consumer Affairs,” he said. “This [CAMTC] is not the normal model.”

And while CAMTC is required to comply with some government rules, it’s still a private organization, funded by fees, not taxes. It operates outside of traditional executive branch oversight.

AB 1504, the bill to extend CAMTC’s authority through 2030, also proposes several changes to the Massage Therapy Act. Among them: new provisions allowing applicants to appeal to the CAMTC board if they’re denied certification for things like misdemeanor convictions or a DUI. The statute also points out that CAMTC’s structure enables people with criminal records to become certified, something that might not be possible under a traditional state licensing board.

However, in most licensed professions in California, like barbers, contractors, or cosmetologists, criminal convictions do not automatically bar someone from getting a license. Thanks to AB 2138,  a law passed in 2018, state boards must consider the nature and age of the conviction. They generally cannot deny a license based on convictions older than seven years or those not directly related to the profession. Still, individual boards retain discretion, especially for recent or serious offenses. CAMTC supporters argue that the council’s nonprofit structure allows for more flexible, case-by-case evaluations that give people a second chance. 

But for out-of-state professionals looking to chase the California dream, the statute leaves interpretation of their schooling entirely up to the CAMTC board. There is no outlined appeals process. 

According to Micheli, changing how CAMTC works would require another act of the Legislature.

“Like any other law, it can be changed. But there has to be a basis for doing so,” he said. “Just because you have a criticism, that’s not always enough. Lawmakers would need to hear from enough stakeholders who want a different approach.”

As CAMTC’s sunset review approaches, some stakeholders are raising their hands.

Ball said she supports oversight of the industry, but believes it should come from a public agency, not a private board.

“A state license is necessary,” she said. “Not just to protect the public, but to make sure the therapists are also advocated for. Because currently, no one is.”

CAMTC ignored our requests for an on-camera interview but provided a written statement, defending the current structure and explaining its benefits to massage therapists.

“What is most useful about CAMTC certification is that it provides portability to the certificate holder in that those who have CAMTC certification can provide massage for compensation in any city or county in the state without the need to obtain a local city or county permit to do so, pursuant to Government Code section 51034(c)(9),” the statement read. “Statutory language is required so that the State can provide this direction to cities and counties and override their authority to require a local permit.”

AB 1504 is currently in committee. Lawmakers return from summer recess later this month.

For more California laws shaping oversight and state agencies, and which bills we’re tracking this summer, take a look at the table below. 

This table is part of an ongoing effort to review and track the thousands of bills introduced in the California Legislature each year. This table reflects the information available at the time of publishing.

Know of a bill you think we should look into? Let us know!