CLEVELAND — Ohio lawmakers may soon consider regulatory changes to the industry of ink. Under the proposed budget, those who work in the "body art" industry, including tattoo artists and body piercers, would be required to obtain a state license, in addition to their employer obtaining a vendor’s permit from their respective county.
Under current law, tattoo and body piercing studios are regulated by county health departments. Under the proposal, which was included as a provision in the $69 billion biennial budget, individual tattoo artists would also be regulated.
J.C. Benton, a spokesman for the state health department, said Ohio’s body art regulations haven’t been changed in two decades. The health department has pushed for updated regulations in years past.
“The [proposed regulations] are about truly ensuring the public health of Ohioans,” Benton said.
The Cuyahoga County Health Department requires new and renewing tattoo and body piercing studios to obtain a permit every year. In order to receive a permit, the establishment must provide the county with records of staff training in the field of body art; documentation of current blood borne pathogen training; documentation of up-to-date first-aid training as well as knowledge of the principals of sterilization.
Only the facilities are permitted – not the individual artist. The proposed regulatory changes would apply to the individual artists, who would also be required to submit the same county-required documentation to the state. The proposal also stipulates that local health departments would still be in charge of handling the licensing of body art businesses.
The finer details of the proposal are still currently being worked on, including the proposed $250 annual licensing fee for individual artists, Benton said.
Jeremiah “Bully Jey” Ward has been a tattoo artist for nearly a decade. In 2012, he opened American Tattoo Studios near West 116th and Madison Ave. in Cleveland. It was the realization of a lifelong dream.
“I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s one of the best jobs on the planet,” Ward said.
Ward said the city and county health departments do a good job of monitoring his staff’s continual training and certifications that state law requires. He also said the county health department’s inspections are thorough, although he tries to implement a standard that is two, three or even four times what county officials require.
Given the success of other regulatory tattoo industry programs in other states, Ward said he’s generally in favor of Ohio’s current proposal. However, the licensing fee is proving to be a sticking point. Under current law, Ward pays $425 every year to the county health department for his business permit. Under the proposed regulatory changes, Ward would pay close to $2,000.
“If it becomes cost prohibitive then you’re going to have a lot of people going underground, which is what we don’t want,” Ward said. “You don’t want legitimate tattoo artists either leaving the state or going underground. That’s not the way to approach this, in my opinion.”
Benton stressed that the proposed $250 licensing fee is subject to change and debate.
Currently under Ohio law, barbers and cosmetologists are individually licensed. Barbers have a $120 licensing fee, while cosmetologists pay $51 annually. Those who provide childcare pay $296 every year.
“Other states like Florida, California, you’re talking anywhere from $60 to $80 in Florida and $47 to $146 in California. These are the states that have been regulating tattooing forever,” Ward said. “Traditionally we’ve never been a huge fan of state or government regulation. We’ve done a phenomenal job regulating ourselves up to this point. But it seems to work well in other states.”
Whatever the licensing fee may be, if passed, the revenues would go toward administration and enforcement, in addition to the creation of a publicly-accessible database where people could search to see if their tattoo artist is properly licensed. It may also be possible to search if a particular artist has a history of violations.
Ward said that may prove beneficial.
“You get a bad mark on your record everybody can see it. That helps the shop owner out by weeding out the bad apples,” Ward said. “’I could ask, ‘oh my goodness. Man, you’ve got violations back in 2018, what were you doing? What was this about?’”
State lawmakers have until the end of June to approve the biennial budget.
