NRS640C.930. Unlawful acts and requirements relating to advertising; penalty; disconnection of telephone service of persons convicted of certain crimes.

      1.  A person shall not advertise as a massage therapist in this State unless the person is licensed to practice massage therapy pursuant to this chapter.

      2.  A person licensed to practice massage therapy pursuant to this chapter shall not disseminate, as part of any advertising by the massage therapist, any false or misleading statement or representation of material fact that is intended, directly or indirectly, to induce another person to use the services of the massage therapist.

      3.  All advertising by a licensed massage therapist must include his or her name and the name of his or her company, if applicable. All advertising in a telephone directory or a newspaper must also include the number of the license.

      4.  A person who violates any provision of subsection 1 or 2 is guilty of a misdemeanor.

      5.  If, after notice and a hearing as required by law, the Board determines that a person has willfully engaged in advertising in a manner that violates the provisions of this section or NRS 640C.910, the Board may, in addition to any penalty, punishment or disciplinary action authorized by the provisions of this chapter, order the person to cease and desist the unlawful advertising. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to any person whose license has been expired for less than 90 days or is temporarily suspended.

      6.  The Board may order any person convicted of a crime involving violence, prostitution or any other sexual offense to cause any telephone number included in the advertising to be disconnected from service. If the Board orders the person to cause any telephone number to be disconnected from service and the person fails to comply within 5 days after the date on which the person is served with the order, the Board may:

      (a) If the provider is regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, request the Commission to order the provider to disconnect the telephone number from service pursuant to NRS 703.175 and 707.355; or

      (b) If the provider is not regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, request the provider to disconnect the telephone number from service and inform the provider that the request is made pursuant to this section. Upon receiving such a request, the provider shall take such action as is necessary to disconnect the telephone number from service.

      7.  A provider shall not:

      (a) Forward or offer to forward the telephone calls of a telephone number disconnected from service pursuant to this section; or

      (b) Provide or offer to provide a message that includes a new telephone number for the person whose telephone number was disconnected from service pursuant to this section.

      8.  If a provider complies in good faith with a request to disconnect a telephone number from service pursuant to this section, such good-faith compliance shall constitute a complete defense to any civil or criminal action brought against the provider arising from the disconnection or termination of service.

      9.  As used in this section:

      (a) “Advertising” means the intentional placement or issuance of any sign, card or device, or the permitting or allowing of any sign or marking on a motor vehicle, in any building, structure, newspaper, magazine or airway transmission, on the Internet or in any directory under the listing of “massage therapist” or “massage.”

      (b) “Provider” means a provider of any type of telephone, messaging or paging service.

      (c) “Provider of messaging or paging service” means an entity that provides any type of messaging or paging service to any type of communication device.

      (d) “Provider of telephone service” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 707.355.

      (e) “Telephone number” means any sequence of numbers or characters, or both, used by a provider to provide any type of telephone, messaging or paging service.

      (Added to NRS by 2009, 2573)