--- type: "Bill" title: "Health Care Practitioners and Massage Therapy" description: "Health Care Practitioners and Massage Therapy; Requires DOH to report specified data; authorizes DOH to suspend license of certain health care practitioners & massage establishments in certain circumstances; revises advertising requirements for massage therapists & massage establishments; prohibits establishments from sheltering or harboring, or being used as sleeping quarters for any person; requires DOH investigators to request government identification from all employees while in massage establishment; specifies additional documents person operating massage establishment must present, upon request, to DOH investigators & law enforcement officers; requires DOH to notify federal immigration office if specified persons fail to provide government identification; revises definition of “unlicensed massage establishment”." jurisdiction: "us/states/fl" legislature: "Florida Legislature" session: "2024" identifier: "HB 197" citation: "Florida HB 197 (2024)" classification: ["bill"] subjects: [] status: "enacted" chapter_law: "2024-148" primary_sponsors: ["Lopez, V."] version_count: 4 action_count: 47 vote_count: 2 first_action: "2023-10-17" last_action: "2024-05-07" source: "openstates" source_identifier: "ocd-bill/dd19ce67-9b89-4537-9df4-6b5b29a706b2" source_url: "https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/197/ByCategory" source_hash: "4f26d4316363a1698cd3e54b7b8369cb1398d2a0fa355fd2321f5a1e3c9b5607" vintage: "2026-07-01" source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump" retrieved_at: "2026-07-06" confidence: "reported" tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-fl"] --- # Florida HB 197 (2024) — Health Care Practitioners and Massage Therapy Health Care Practitioners and Massage Therapy; Requires DOH to report specified data; authorizes DOH to suspend license of certain health care practitioners & massage establishments in certain circumstances; revises advertising requirements for massage therapists & massage establishments; prohibits establishments from sheltering or harboring, or being used as sleeping quarters for any person; requires DOH investigators to request government identification from all employees while in massage establishment; specifies additional documents person operating massage establishment must present, upon request, to DOH investigators & law enforcement officers; requires DOH to notify federal immigration office if specified persons fail to provide government identification; revises definition of “unlicensed massage establishment”. **Enacted** — Laws of Florida, Chapter 2024-148. ## Version chain The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment. 1. **H 197 Filed** (filed) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/197/BillText/Filed/PDF) 2. **H 197 c1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/197/BillText/c1/PDF) 3. **H 197 c2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/197/BillText/c2/PDF) 4. **H 197 er** (enrolled) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/197/BillText/er/PDF) ## Votes - Third Reading — **38–0** (pass) · upper - Passage, Third Reading — **118–0** (pass) · lower ## Sponsors - Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee — primary (organization) - Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee — primary (organization) - Lopez, V. — primary (person) - Bankson — cosponsor (person) - Bartleman — cosponsor (person) - Edmonds — cosponsor (person) - Garcia — cosponsor (person) - Melo — cosponsor (person) - Overdorf — cosponsor (person) - Roth — cosponsor (person) - Steele — cosponsor (person) - Woodson — cosponsor (person) ## Timeline The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote. - **2023-10-17** Filed `filing` - **2023-11-02** Referred to Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee `referral-committee` - **2023-11-02** Referred to Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee `referral-committee` - **2023-11-02** Referred to Health & Human Services Committee `referral-committee` - **2023-11-02** Now in Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee - **2023-11-29** PCS added to Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee agenda - **2023-12-06** Favorable with CS by Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee `committee-passage-favorable` - **2023-12-07** Reported out of Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee - **2023-12-07** Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a) `deferral` - **2023-12-07** CS Filed `filing` - **2023-12-11** Referred to Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee `referral-committee` - **2023-12-11** Referred to Health & Human Services Committee `referral-committee` - **2023-12-11** Now in Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee - **2024-01-09** 1st Reading (Original Filed Version) `filing, reading-1` - **2024-01-09** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1) `reading-1` - **2024-01-16** Added to Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee agenda - **2024-01-18** Favorable with CS by Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee `committee-passage-favorable` - **2024-01-19** Reported out of Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee - **2024-01-19** Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a) `deferral` - **2024-01-19** CS Filed `filing` - **2024-01-22** Referred to Health & Human Services Committee `referral-committee` - **2024-01-22** Now in Health & Human Services Committee - **2024-01-22** 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 2) `reading-1` - **2024-02-06** Added to Health & Human Services Committee agenda - **2024-02-08** Favorable by Health & Human Services Committee `committee-passage-favorable` - **2024-02-08** Reported out of Health & Human Services Committee - **2024-02-08** Bill released to House Calendar - **2024-02-08** Added to Second Reading Calendar - **2024-02-12** Bill added to Special Order Calendar (2/15/2024) - **2024-02-15** Read 2nd time `reading-2` - **2024-02-15** Added to Third Reading Calendar - **2024-02-15** Read 3rd time `reading-3` - **2024-02-15** CS passed; YEAS 118, NAYS 0 `passage` - **2024-02-15** In Messages - **2024-02-16** Referred to Fiscal Policy `referral-committee` - **2024-02-20** Received `enrolled` - **2024-03-05** Withdrawn from Fiscal Policy `withdrawal` - **2024-03-05** Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading - **2024-03-05** Substituted for CS/SB 896 - **2024-03-05** Read 2nd time `reading-2` - **2024-03-05** Read 3rd time `reading-3` - **2024-03-05** CS passed; YEAS 38 NAYS 0 `passage` - **2024-03-05** In Messages - **2024-03-05** Ordered enrolled `enrolled` - **2024-04-22** Signed by Officers and presented to Governor `executive-receipt` - **2024-05-06** Approved by Governor `executive-signature` - **2024-05-07** Chapter No. 2024-148 ## Source OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/dd19ce67-9b89-4537-9df4-6b5b29a706b2`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Florida legislature records).