Illinois Stalls New Tattoo Parlor Regulations

August 10th, 2009 · No Comments

State Stalls Tattoo Parlor Regulation Plan
Madison County Already Has Tough Standards
By Chris Coates
Published : August 3, 2009

ILLINOIS – Tougher rules on how often tattoo and body-piercing businesses in Illinois are checked for safety problems have been shelved after problems with state funding. Madison County already has strict guidelines on the operations.

Lawmakers in July 2006 approved legislation requiring yearly inspections by the Illinois Department of Public Health or another agency. The state previously had no statewide standard for making sure the businesses are sanitary. The rule also forced employees to receive training.

The regulation was set to take effect Saturday, giving owners enough time to prepare.

But state spokeswoman Kelly Jakubek said funding to train local health department workers was delayed because of the state budget crises in Springfield. She said the inspections have now been pushed back to later in the month, although an exact date hasn’t been set.

“It’s been longer than we like,” she said. “But there have been some barriers.”

Whenever the rule takes effect, it will likely have a limited impact on Madison and St. Clair county businesses, where regulations have been in place for years.

“They will have to follow the state rules and our rules,” said Madison County Health Department Environmental Health Manager Mary Cooper.

The county requires annual inspections and enforces various rules on cleanliness. An annual permit costs $50.

New requirements for tattoo and piercing businesses

– Renew registration with state every year

– Mandatory inspections

– Allows state to charge up $1,000 a day for fines

Source: State Department of Public Health

Source : Suburban Journals