Regulatory bills target body artists; Washington legislation

The video-game industry, interior designers and Internet gambling all are being put under the legislative microscope these days, and now the tattoo and body piercing industries are joining them.

Three bills have been introduced that would place regulations on what is otherwise a self-policing industry. Two of the bills, House Bill 2090 and Senate Bill 5913, already have survived their initial committee debates.

The bills offer different approaches toward overseeing the artists who use pins and needles as tools and the human body for their canvases. The House bill requires the state health secretary to develop sterilization standards for needles, sharps, instruments, and the jewelry used in the trades.

"When I was growing up it was poodle skirts. They didn't leave anything, you grew out of them and that was the end of it," said Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, sponsor of the bill that was voted out of committee last week and awaits a hearing in the Rules Committee.

"At least if this generation is going to do body piercing I think we have to know where they go is clean, regulated and do the best job," Appleton said.

The bill is supported by some Seattle-area tattoo and piercing parlors. Proponents said reputable shops already follow strict sterilization procedures. Regulating sterilization would help weed out those who aren't as mindful of health hazards, they said.

In Spokane, tattoo artists at parlors such as Tiger Tattoo and Rings of Fire predicted the proposed regulations would have little effect.

"The law seems kind of goofy if everyone follows the rules already," said Walt Diley, owner of Tiger Tattoo, which is located on East Sprague. "It's a pretty sanitary procedure. I don't know of any tattooist who doesn't follow sanitation and health guidelines in this day and age."

Currently 34 states, including Idaho, regulate body piercing.

At the House hearing this week authorities cited the need for safety measures to be taken by piercers and tattooists but did not specify how great a health risk the procedures are.

The Senate bill, which had a hearing this week in the Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee, faces more of an uphill battle. It would require piercers to get state licenses, placing their regulation under the Department of Licensing rather than the Department of Health.

"This will professionalize the industry," said Kittie Candelina, a representative from the National Hepatitis C Institute. "We regulate barbers and manicurists, so this regulation of piercers and tattoo artists is long overdue."

Candelina also was concerned with the transmission of Hepatitis C, HIV and other diseases through improper sterilization procedures.

Opponents say the Health Department is more familiar with health concerns than is the Department of Licensing, and oppose the licensing requirement.

A third bill, SB 5738, which is not expected to pass out of committee, would require parental consent for a minor to get a body piercing. Washington is one of 16 states that does not regulate the piercing of minors.

Travis Hay can be reached at (360) 586-0002 or travis.hay@gmail.com.

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