City of Hollister, MO Chapter 640 Tattooing, Body Piercing and Branding

Section 640.000 Purpose.

[Ord. No. 16-04, 1-21-2016[1]]

It is hereby the intent of this Chapter to regulate the operation of tattooing, body piercing, and branding as defined herein is a business affecting the public health, safety, and general welfare.

[1] Editor's Note: Former Chapter 640, Tattooing, Body Piercing And Branding, containing Sections 640.010 through 640.090, was repealed 1-21-2016 by Ord. No. 16-04.

Section 640.010 Definitions.

[Ord. No. 16-04, 1-21-2016]

For the purpose of the Chapter, the following terms, phrases and words shall have the meanings herein expressed:

BODY PIERCING

The perforation of human tissue other than an ear for a non-medical purpose. (Refer: 20 CSR 2267-1.010)

BRANDING

Making a permanent mark on human tissue by burning with a hot iron or other instrument. (Refer: 20 CSR 2267-1.010)

OPERATOR

A person who practices the art of tattooing, body piercing, or branding.

PERSON

Any individual, firm, or corporation, owner or operator of a tattooing, body piercing, or branding establishment.

TATTOOING

Placing an indelible mark on the body of another person by the insertion of a pigment under the skin or an indelible design made on the body of another person by production of scars other than branding. (Refer: 20 CSR 2267-1.010) This definition does include the application of permanent cosmetics.

TATTOOING/BODY PIERCING/BRANDING ESTABLISHMENTS

Any place or facility where the art of tattooing, body piercing, or branding is performed.

Section 640.020 License Required.

[Ord. No. 16-04, 1-21-2016]

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation owning, controlling or leasing, acting as agent for conducting, managing or operating any tattooing, body piercing, and branding establishment without first applying for and receiving a City license from the City Clerk.

Section 640.025 Health Permit Required.

[Ord. No. 16-03,4-7-2016]

A. Application. Any person desiring a tattooing, body piercing, and branding health permit shall make written application for a permit on forms provided by the City Clerk.

B. Issuance. After receipt of an application for a tattooing, body piercing and branding health permit, the Health Department shall inspect the proposed tattooing establishment to determine compliance with the provisions of this Chapter. If applicable requirements of this Chapter have been met, the Health Department shall issue a tattooing, body piercing and branding health permit.

Section 640.030 Tattooing, Body Piercing And Branding Health Permit Fees.

[Ord. No. 16-04, 1-21-2016; Ord. No. 16-37, 1-5-2017]

A. The annual permit fee for tattooing, body piercing, and branding shall be based on inspection frequency.

B. The following fees shall apply:

1. Tattooing, body piercing and branding establishments:

a. Health inspection (two (2) inspections per year): one hundred dollars ($100.00).

2. Pre-opening inspection (completed before the business opens for the first time)

a. Pre-opening inspection: one hundred dollars ($100.00).

Section 640.040 Terms Of Permit.

[Ord. No. 16-04, 1-21-2016]

Licenses and permits for a tattooing, body piercing, or branding establishment under the provisions of this Chapter may be granted at any time during the year, but all licenses, permits and operator's cards issued herein under shall expire on the 30th day of June. Licenses shall not be transferable from one (1) person to another or from one (1) location to another.

Section 640.050 Posting Of Licenses And Permits.

[Ord. No. 16-04, 1-21-2016]

All licenses and permits shall be posted at all times in a visible location in the establishment.

Section 640.060 Regulations As To Operation.

[Ord. No. 16-04, 1-21-2016

A. Compliance. Any person maintaining, conducting, operating or managing any tattooing, body piercing, or branding establishment must comply with the following regulations.

B. General Regulations.

1. No tattooing, body piercing, or branding may be administered by any person under twenty-one (21) years of age to any person less than eighteen (18) years of age. The operator will obtain proof of age before the tattooing, body piercing or branding procedure is done, and such proof will be retained for three (3) years.

2. Before tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding, the patron must be advised that the tattoo or brand should be considered permanent; tattoos or brands can be removed only with surgical procedure; and that any effective removal may leave permanent scarring and disfigurement. The patron must be advised that body piercings are not permanent and must be cared for to keep them functional and free of infection. A properly authorized consent form signed by the patron acknowledging that he or she has been informed in person and in writing, pursuant to 20 CSR 2267-5.020 Section (2) of this rule. The informed consent form shall be retained on file in the tattoo, body piercing and/or branding establishment for a period of three (3) years. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.020)

3. The skin surface to be tattooed, pierced, or branded must be free of rash, pimples, infection or recent scar tissue. The patron must be in apparent good health and the skin to be tattooed, pierced, or branded generally free of all appearances of pathological conditions.

4. Tattoos, body piercings, or brands may not be administered to any person under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The operator is responsible for making reasonable observation and inquiry to assure himself/herself that the patron is sober and not under the influence of drugs.

5. After the procedure is complete, the operator shall provide the patron with verbal and written instructions for the care of the tattoo, pierce or brand. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.040)

6. The regulations herein provided shall not allow nor permit the removal of any tattoo or brand, nor shall the operator perform or attempt to perform any procedure which is intended to remove any tattoo or brand. Any attempt by an operator to perform a tattoo or brand removal procedure, shall result in the immediate suspension of the operator's health permit. A hearing may be conducted as to why the operator's permit should be reinstated. The above procedure shall not preclude prosecution of the operator during the same period of permit suspension.

7. Upon request by proper authority, operators shall disclose records of all tattooing, body piercing, or branding. Said records shall disclose the name, address, telephone number, date of birth, driver's license number or official picture identification number of the patron and health conditions of patron consent form. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.020)

C. Premises.

1. Premises and equipment must be maintained in a sanitary manner. This includes physical cleanliness as well as antiseptic precautions.

2. All tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding establishments shall be equipped with hot and cold running water. Adequate toilet facilities with antibacterial soap and single-service towels properly installed and in compliance with ordinances, rules and regulations of the City of Hollister shall be provided. All tattooing, body piercing and/or branding establishments shall have a separate sink to be used only for sterilization purposes. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-3.010)

3. All tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding establishments shall be well lit with not less than fifty-foot candles in all cleaning and working areas.

4. All tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding establishments shall have ventilation as required by ordinances and regulations of the City of Hollister.

5. All tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding establishment shall be of sufficient size to accommodate required equipment and business done therein.

6. Floors, walls, ceilings, and fixtures shall be clean and in good repair and maintained in a clean condition. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-3.010)

7. Adequate equipment and facilities shall be provided for the disposition of infectious waste, including but not limited to sharps waste, which shall be placed in a properly marked biohazard bag or sharps container and disposed of by an approved biohazardous waste company. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-3.010)

8. All furniture in an establishment in the tattooing, piercing, or branding process shall be constructed of a material allowing easy and thorough cleaning and shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-3.010)

9. The Director, or agent of the State Office of Tattooing, Body Piercing and Branding, or the City of Hollister, upon proper identification, shall be permitted to enter any tattooing, body piercing and/or branding establishment during the hours of operation to determine if the establishment and its practitioners are in compliance with Missouri Statutes, regulations, and City ordinances and to examine the records of the establishment. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-6.010)

10. Alcoholic beverages shall not be consumed on premises. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

11. No animals, except for those providing services to persons with disabilities, are permitted in a tattooing, body piercing, and/or branding establishment. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-3.010)

12. A tattooing, body piercing or branding establishment shall post a sign in a conspicuous place in the establishment stating that no person under the age of eighteen (18) shall be tattooed, body pierced, or branded. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.020)

D. Equipment.

1. Single-use containers of pigment or ink shall be used for each patron and the remainder of unused portions properly and permanently disposed of and/or destroyed after each application. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

2. Instruments, dyes, pigments, stencils, branding irons, and other branding instruments used for tattooing, body piercing and branding shall be sterilized and stored in a safe and sanitary manner in order to prevent contamination. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

3. Sterilization of equipment shall be by: steam pressure sterilization (autoclave), operated at a minimum of two hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (250° F.) and/or one hundred twenty-one degrees Celsius (121° C.) at a pressure of at least fifteen (15) pounds per square inch for not less than thirty (30) minutes. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-1.010)

a. To prepare for steam pressure sterilization, manually preclean the items with care taken to ensure removal of residue; thoroughly rinse the items with warm water, then drain the water; clean the items by soaking them in a protein-dissolving detergent-enzyme cleaner used according to manufacturer's instruction; clean the items further in an ultrasonic cleaning device that operates at forty (40) to sixty (60) hertz. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.030)

b. Rinsing and drying the items. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.030).

4. When an autoclave procedure is used, heat-sensitive indicators capable of indicating approximate time and temperature achieved shall be used. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.030).

5. Each tattooing, body piercing and branding establishment shall maintain sterilization records including spore tests for at least two (2) years from the date of the last entry, which shall include the following information: with date of sterilization, name of person operating the equipment and, result of heat-sensitive indicator for each sterilization process, and shall be kept on file for inspection by the appropriate authority. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.030)

6. All sterilized instruments shall be wrapped and stored in a manner that ensures they will remain sterile until used. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.030)

7. All tattoo stencils shall be single-use, and each stencil shall be properly discarded after one (1) use. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

E. Minimum Acceptable Aseptic Technique.

1. Neither the patron nor operator shall consume or bring food or drink or alcohol into the tattooing, body piercing, or branding area and shall not smoke during the procedure or in the room(s) where the tattooing, body piercing, or branding takes place. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

2. The operator must be free from communicable disease while tattooing, body piercing or branding and present no pustular lesions of the hands or arms.

3. Immediately before administering a tattoo, body piercing, or branding the operator must thoroughly wash his/her hands and arms in hot water with soap and then dry the hands with a single-service towel. The operator shall wear non-porous disposable gloves at all times when in contact with a patron's skin. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

4. The operator shall wear clean and easily washable outer clothing while tattooing, body piercing, or branding. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

5. The operator, while administrating a tattoo, body piercing, or brand shall wear non-absorbent gloves when preparing the skin and performing each procedure and shall in general pay particular attention to his/her personal hygiene. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

6. The skin surrounding the area where the tattoo, body piercing, or brand is to be placed shall first be washed with a germicidal soap and then prepare the area with an antiseptic. The solution shall be applied with cotton, gauze or single-use toweling. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.040)

7. Single-use razor blades shall be used when the customer is shaved and then the razor is disposed of in the appropriate container. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

8. During any phase of the tattooing, body piercing, or branding procedure, should the operator be interrupted for other duties, i.e., answering the phone, etc.; the operator shall wash his/her hands and arms and wear non-porous disposable gloves as in Subsection (E)(3) herein before resuming the tattooing, piercing or branding procedure. (Refer to 20 CSR 2267-5.010)

9. All infections resulting from the practice of tattooing, body piercing, or branding shall be reported to the Director by the person owning or operating the tattooing, body piercing or branding establishment.

F. All new tattooing, body piercing, and branding salons shall obtain a Conditional Use Permit approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Aldermen.

G. Failure to comply with the above rules and conditions may result in revocation of the Conditional Use Permit and license to operate. Such revocation shall be at the discretion of the Health Officer and the Board of Aldermen.

Section 640.070 Violation And Penalty.

[Ord. No. 16-04, 1-21-2016]

Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of this Chapter or fail to comply with any order or regulation made thereunder shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).