(1) conduct hearings on alleged violations of this chapter and regulations promulgated under this chapter;

(2) mediate consumer complaints, where appropriate and possible;

(B) A person licensed under this chapter shall display the license in a prominent and conspicuous place in the person's place of business and shall include the number of the license in an advertisement of massage/bodywork services appearing in a newspaper, airwave transmission, telephone directory, or other advertising medium.

(C) Only a person licensed under this chapter may use the title of `massage/bodywork therapist'.

(D) Under conditions established by the department in regulation the department may issue a provisional license to applicants meeting these requirements.

(E) A duplicate license may be issued to a licensee by the department in accordance with regulations promulgated by the department and upon payment of a fee.

Section 40-30-150. The department shall issue a license to a person who holds an active license in another state if the standards for licensure in that state are at least the substantial equivalent to the licensing standards provided for in this chapter, and the person satisfies any other requirements the department may prescribe in regulation.

Section 40-30-160. (A) The department shall keep a record of its proceedings and a registry of all applications for licensure. The register shall show the name, age, and last known address of each applicant, the place of business of the applicant, the education, experience, and other qualifications of the applicant, type of examination required, whether or not a license was granted, whether or not the applicant was denied a license, the date of the action of the department, and other information considered necessary by the department.

(B) The record of department proceedings and its registry of applications must be open to public inspection and a copy of the registry must be provided upon request and payment of a fee.

(C) Records of the department and its registry are prima facie evidence of its proceedings and a transcript certified by the director under seal is admissible as evidence with the same force and effect as the original.

(1) pay a renewal fee in the amount, at the time, and in the manner as the department provides in regulation;

(2) submit evidence of compliance with continuing education requirements prescribed by the department in accordance with Section 40-30-190.

A massage/bodywork therapist's license automatically reverts to inactive status if the massage/bodywork therapist fails to timely comply with this subsection and only may be reinstated upon application and payment of any fees and after having met any additional requirements which the department may establish in regulation including, but not limited to, continuing education requirements.

(B) A license which has been inactive for more than four years automatically expires if the person has not made application for renewal of the license. An expired license is null and void without any further action by the department.

Section 40-30-190. The department shall promulgate regulations establishing continuing education requirements and criteria for the approval of continuing education programs or courses including, but not limited to, correspondence courses for:

(1) license renewal not to exceed twelve classroom hours per biennium;

(2) reinstating an inactive license, not to exceed six classroom hours for each year the license was inactive.

Section 40-30-200. If the director has reason to believe that a person licensed under this chapter has become unfit to practice massage/bodywork therapy or has violated a provision of this chapter or a regulation promulgated under this chapter or if a written complaint charging the licensee with the violation of a provision of this chapter or a regulation is filed with the director, the director shall initiate an investigation in accordance with procedures established by the department in regulation. If after investigation it appears that probable cause exists for a hearing, a time and a place must be set by the disciplinary panel for a hearing to determine whether disciplinary action must be taken against the licensee. Notice must be given and the hearing conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act.

Section 40-30-220. (A) When the disciplinary panel or the department has reason to believe that a person is violating or intends to violate a provision of this chapter or a regulation promulgated under this chapter, in addition to all other remedies, it may order the person to immediately cease and desist from engaging in the conduct. If the person is practicing massage/bodywork without being licensed under this chapter the disciplinary panel or the department also may apply to an Administrative Law Judge for a temporary restraining order prohibiting the unlawful practice. The Administrative Law judge may issue a temporary restraining order ex parte and the disciplinary panel or the department is not required to:

(1) post a bond;

(2) establish the absence of an adequate remedy at law;

(3) establish that irreparable damage would result from the continued violation.

No disciplinary panel member nor the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing, or Regulation nor any other employee of the department may be held liable for damages resulting from a wrongful temporary restraining order.

(B) In accordance with the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, the disciplinary panel or the department also may seek from an Administrative Law Judge other equitable relief to enjoin the violation or intended violation of this chapter or a regulation promulgated under this chapter.

Section 40-30-230. The following constitute misconduct and are grounds for the department denying initial licensure to or the disciplinary panel taking disciplinary action against a person who:

(3) has violated a provision of this chapter, a regulation promulgated under this chapter, or an order of the department or the disciplinary panel;

(4) has intentionally or knowingly, directly or indirectly, aided or abetted in the violation or conspiracy to violate this chapter or a regulation promulgated under this chapter;

(5) has intentionally used a fraudulent statement in a document connected to the practice of massage/bodywork or has made false, deceptive, or misleading statements in the practice of massage/bodywork or in advertising;

(6) has obtained fees or assisted in obtaining fees under intentionally fraudulent circumstances;

(7) has committed dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct that is likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public;

(8) lacks the professional or ethical competence to practice massage/bodywork;

(9) has been convicted of or has pled guilty to or nolo contendere to a felony or a crime which directly relates to the practice or ability to practice massage/bodywork;

(10) has practiced massage/bodywork while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or uses alcohol or drugs to such a degree as to render him unfit to practice massage/bodywork;

(11) has sustained a physical or mental disability, as determined by a physician, which renders further practice by the licensee dangerous to the public.

Section 40-30-240. When investigating grounds for taking disciplinary action based upon an alcohol or drug addiction, as provided for in Section 40-30-240(10), or a physical or mental disability, as provided for in Section 40-30-240(11), the disciplinary panel upon reasonable grounds may:

(2) obtain records relating to the mental or physical condition of an applicant or licensee including, but not limited to, psychiatric records, and these records are admissible in a hearing before the disciplinary panel, notwithstanding any other provision of law. A person who accepts the privilege of practicing massage/bodywork in this State or who files an application to practice massage/bodywork in this State is deemed to have consented to the disciplinary panel obtaining these records and to have waived all objections to the admissibility of these records in a hearing before the disciplinary panel upon the grounds that the records constitute a privileged communication. If a licensee or applicant refuses to sign a written consent for the disciplinary panel to obtain these records when requested by the disciplinary panel under this section, unless the failure was due to circumstances beyond the person's control, the disciplinary panel shall enter an order automatically denying or suspending the license pending compliance and further order of the disciplinary panel. An applicant or licensee who is prohibited from practicing massage/bodywork under this section must be afforded at reasonable intervals an opportunity to demonstrate to the disciplinary panel the ability to resume or begin the practice of massage/bodywork with reasonable skill and safety to patients.

Section 40-30-250. (A) Upon a determination by the disciplinary panel that one or more of the grounds for discipline exist, as provided for in Section 40-30-230, the disciplinary panel may:

(1) issue a public or private reprimand;

(2) order community service;

(3) order restitution, where appropriate;

(4) place the licensee on probation, restrict the license, or suspend the license for a definite or indefinite time and prescribe conditions to be met during probation, restriction, or suspension, respectively, including, but not limited to, satisfactory completion of a supervisory period of continuing education programs as the department may specify;

(5) permanently revoke the license.

(B) A decision by the disciplinary panel to discipline a licensee as authorized under this section must be made by a majority vote of the total membership of the disciplinary panel serving at the time the vote is taken.

(C) A final order of the department refusing to issue a license to an applicant or of the disciplinary panel disciplining a licensee under this section, except for a private reprimand, is public information.

Section 40-30-260. A licensee who is under investigation for misconduct as defined in Section 40-30-230 for which the disciplinary panel may take disciplinary action may voluntarily surrender his license to the department. The voluntary surrender invalidates the license at the time of its relinquishment, and no person whose license is surrendered voluntarily may practice as a massage/bodywork therapist until the disciplinary panel reinstates the license. A person practicing as a massage/bodywork therapist during the period of voluntary license surrender is considered an illegal practitioner and is subject to the penalties provided by this chapter. The surrender of a license may not be considered as an admission of guilt in a proceeding under this chapter. The surrender does not preclude the disciplinary panel from imposing conditions on the acceptance of the proffered surrender and does not preclude the disciplinary panel from taking disciplinary action against the licensee.

Section 40-30-270. A person aggrieved by an action of the disciplinary panel or the department may appeal the decision to an Administrative Law Judge in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act. Service of a notice of appeal does not stay the disciplinary panel's or the department's decision pending completion of the appellate process.

(B) A continuance may be given in any hearing under this chapter for which notice is given pursuant to this section so as to afford the licensee a reasonable opportunity to appear and be heard.

Section 40-30-290. (A) All costs and fines imposed under Section 40-30-250 are due and payable immediately upon imposition. Unless the costs and fines are paid within sixty days after the order becomes final, the order constitutes a judgment and may be filed and executed upon in the same manner as a judgment in the Court of Common Pleas, and the department may collect costs and attorney fees incurred in executing the judgment. Interest at the legal rate accrues on the amount due from the date imposed until the date paid.

(B) All fines and costs collected under this section must be remitted by the department to the State Treasurer and deposited in a special fund from which the department, upon approval of the State Budget and Control Board, must be reimbursed for the administrative costs associated with investigations and hearings under this chapter.

Section 40-30-300. (A) Every communication, whether oral or written, made by or on behalf of a person, to the director or the disciplinary panel, whether by way of complaint or testimony, is privileged, and no action or proceeding, civil or criminal, may be brought against the person, by or on whose behalf the communication is made, except upon proof that the communication was made with malice.

(B) Nothing in this chapter may be construed as prohibiting the respondent or his legal counsel from exercising the respondent's constitutional right of due process under the law, nor as prohibiting the respondent from normal access to the charges and evidence filed against him as part of due process under the law.

Section 40-30-310. (A) It is unlawful for a person to:

(1) hold himself out as a massage/bodywork therapist unless licensed under this chapter;

(2) permit an employed person to practice massage/bodywork unless licensed under this chapter;

(3) present as his own the license of another;

(4) allow the use of his license by an unlicensed person;

(7) use or attempt to use a license that has been revoked;

(8) otherwise violate a provision of this chapter.