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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Adair

DATE TYPED 3/3/05

HB

SHORT TITLE Parental Consent for Body Art and Piercing

SB 80/aSPAC

ANALYST Medina

APPROPRIATION

Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY05

FY06

FY05

FY06

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to the Public Health Act (Section 24-1-1 through 24-1-28 NMSA 1978)

Relates to SB 81

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Attorney General (AG)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of SPAC Amendment

The Senate Public Affairs Committee amendment strikes the word “from” and the comma on

page 1, line 24; and on line 25 of the same page substitutes the word “or” for the word “and”.

This change allows for parental consent for the administration of body art upon a minor to be

provided by the parent’s presence or by the parent’s provision of a notarized consent form.

The amendment further eliminates the requirement that the parent or legal guardian personally

deliver the notarized informed consent form to the person administering the body art or body

piercing and remain present throughout the administration of the body art or body piercing. Fi-

nally, the amendment eliminates the requirement that delivery of the informed consent form by

the minor is not sufficient to permit the administration of the body art or body piercing, and the

requirement the parent or guardian giving consent present photo identification.

Senate Bill 80/aSPAC -- Page 2

Synopsis of Original Bill

Senate Bill 80 requires parental or legal guardian consent, in the form of a notarized consent

form and the physical presence of the parent or guardian, for the administration of body art or

body piercing upon a minor. Body art refers to tattoos and body piercing refers to piercing any

part of the body except for the ear.

Significant Issues

Senate Bill 80 does not include a regulatory or enforcement provision.

According to the Attorney General:

“Body art is defined in SB 80 as the performance of certain procedures by someone other

than a state-licensed physician or a person acting under the supervision of a state-licensed

physician. It is not clear whether these same procedures, if performed by a state-licensed

physician or under the supervision of a state-licensed physician, would require parental

consent.”

According to the Department of Health:

“Tattooing, body piercing and scarification are currently largely unregulated in New

Mexico. Transmission of infectious diseases by potential contamination of equipment

used for these practices is a legitimate public health concern. Epidemiological research

has established not only biologic plausibility but also survey-based evidence that blood

borne pathogens such as hepatitis B and C viruses may be transmitted through contami-

nated body art equipment. Tattooing and body piercing are similar to certain medical and

dental procedures that involve penetrating body tissues with foreign bodies, thereby po-

tentially introducing infectious agents. Because medical and dental procedures are regu-

lated in order to reduce the risk of acquisition of infectious diseases, it is appropriate to

consider body art for similar regulation.

It is unclear whether SB 80 is directed to all practitioners of body art and body piercing,

whether commercial or not, and cultural or not. There are reportedly some Native

American practices that may involve scarification and this bill does not indicate whether

parental consent would be required in these cases.

By requiring notarization of consent, parental/legal guardian presence throughout the

procedure and photographic identification of the parent/legal guardian, the bill may dis-

courage body art or body piercing for some minors.”

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

According to the Department of Health, this bill is consistent with the Comprehensive Strategic

Plan’s priority of reducing the transmission Hepatitis C, a readily transmissible blood borne vi-

rus.

Senate Bill 80/aSPAC -- Page 3

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The agency responsible for monitoring practitioners would potentially require both personnel

and administrative support to effectively monitor compliance.

RELATIONSHIP

Senate Bill 81 prohibits the administration or offer to administer body art upon a minor.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

According to the Department of Health:

“Tattooing, body piercing and scarification involve the penetration of body tissues by

needles. In tattooing and body piercing, foreign bodies are introduced into body tissues

that are susceptible to infection. Clearly it is important that instruments that penetrate

susceptible tissue are free of materials capable of transmitting infectious diseases. Of

particular importance are blood borne viral infections that can establish serious chronic

diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

Bacterial infections such as staphylococcal and streptococcal infections can also occur as

a result of skin piercing, which may become life threatening.

Although the risk attributable to tattooing in the transmission of hepatitis and HIV infec-

tion is not known, several lines of evidence support that body art procedures could trans-

mit these infections. It is appropriate for hygienic standards for these practices be estab-

lished and regulated. Despite data that supports tattooing as a potential risk factor for ac-

quiring blood borne viral infections, it is often not possible to estimate the number of in-

fections acquired by this route since there are often confounding risk factors such as in-

jection drug use present.”

ALTERNATIVES

According to the Department of Health, an alternative would be to modify this bill to consider

regulating establishments rather than individuals.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL.

Persons who administer body art or body piercing would not be required to obtain parental con-

sent before doing administering body art or body piercing to a minor.

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