As once-taboo piercings and tattoos grow in popularity, Michigan wants to start regulating the body art industry.
Tattoo artists and body piercers are asking what took so long.
"We are dealing with blood and body fluids. We're not just cutting hair," said Kris Lachance, who owns the Splash of Color Tattoo & Piercing Studio in East Lansing, located just steps from Michigan State University.
Hepatitis and skin infections such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, have been linked to tattoos and piercings. But other than requirements that minors have parental consent and that adults be drug- and alcohol-free when getting body art, there's no state law punishing artists for the unsanitary use of needles and gloves.
That could soon change. Gov. Jennifer Granholm is expected to sign legislation passed last week requiring body art shops to get a $500 state license and meet safety standards.
Local governments currently decide whether to license and inspect body art shops. Wayne and Oakland counties in southeast Michigan the Detroit area are among those that have their own regulations. But many others -- such as west Michigan's Kent County -- don't.
Lachance, who pushed for the bill, estimates that only one-third of Michigan's 83 counties regulate body art shops on their own. Starting in 2009, all county health departments would have to conduct annual inspections under the proposed law. The state also couldn't issue licenses until seeing inspection results.
Similar bills have stalled in the Capitol for a decade, but legislation sponsored by Sen. John Gleason got traction this time, partly because more people are getting tattoos or piercings.
Once the domain of bikers and those serving in the military, body art now is more mainstream, thanks to athletes, celebrities and TV shows such as "Miami Ink" and "Inked."
Professional piercers and tattooists want to make their industry more legitimate to ward off concerns over health problems and teens participating in underground tattoo parties held in people's homes. MRSA infections have drawn attention in recent months with a spate of reports in schools.
At some college and high school blood drives, half the potential donors have new tattoos or body piercings, making them ineligible to give blood for a year.
These students could donate right away, however, if their tattoos or piercings were done at a state-licensed facility. The American Red Cross estimates Michigan's yearly blood supply would rise by up to 30,000 units if the law is enacted.
There are 350 to 400 tattoo and-or body piercing businesses in the state. About 18 percent of Michigan adults have tattoos, according to a poll conducted for the Detroit Free Press and Detroit TV station WDIV by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa. People younger than 35 comprise 62 percent of the tattooed.
"I'm just amazed at how big this industry is growing," said Wayne County spokesman Dennis Niemiec, who added that body art's popularity makes it even more important to protect people from bad practitioners. "You wouldn't eat at a restaurant or fly on a plane that is never inspected."
Wayne County already has one of the state's most aggressive licensing policies, but unauthorized body art is a problem there. Teens at one school tattooed and pierced each other in a park, Niemiec said.
"We get loads of complaints," he said of tattoo parties advertised on Internet message boards and by word of mouth. "Some guy walks into a living room and starts tattooing people."
Regulating body art shops statewide is considered a starting point. Owners would have to use sterile needs and single-use ink, comply with blood safety standard and keep records of customers. Violations would count as misdemeanors punishable by 90 days in jail and a $100 fine, which some think is too light.
Counties would be free to impose stricter standards than the state. Wayne County, for instance, soon could recommend health officials inspect businesses twice a year and license tattoo artists, not just the businesses.
"Enforcement has been nil to none because the industry for a long time was out of the mainstream," said Lachance, who has run her East Lansing business for nearly 11 years.
Tattoo industry regulation varies widely across the nation. Oklahoma banned tattoos until 2006. Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota and many other states have little or no state regulation. Oregon and Colorado are among states regulating the industry.
Gleason, D-Flushing, said he became aware of how much regulations differed between localities when he was a Genesee County commissioner.
"It was frustrating because our kids, they'd jump in the car after school and run across the county line" where tattoo parlors didn't face regulation, Gleason said. "I think we have to be more concerned now than ever because of communicable diseases."