SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif-A new law begins Sunday, the "Safe Body Art Act AB300." There are new requirements on the tattoo industry that just may have created a "new crime".
If you're a tattoo artist you need two things: you need to be registered, and have a health permit. If you don't get one, you'll receive a misdemeanor. "I can see a citation for it by the health department itself, but taking a legal action on it seems a little extreme to me", says Jake Stockstell, Owner of Apothecary Tattoo.
Other requirements call for getting vaccinated, being trained in sanitation and annually renewing a health permit. Stockstell says it will be good for the industry as long as they have a working relationship with local enforcement.
"As long as they handle it with some class and they come and talk to the industry like they said they would, their shouldn't be a problem with it at all. I think it would be a good thing to keep everything sanitary and on the same page."
Now the fines can be hefty, if an artist violates any one requirement, fees can go up to 1-thousand dollars. On top of that, local enforcement agencies can triple it if you are caught without needed permits, something that can hurt a business.
"You get to a point where people say why pay for it, when I can just do this out of my garage kind of deal. Which is a sad state for tattooing, we've come from there and we don't need to regress back to there."
If it does come down to imposing fee after fee, some local tattoo artists worry that other local professionals may take their ink to underground tattooing.
Now because the law began on a Sunday, tattoo shops say they are expecting enforcement agencies to be making their rounds Monday.
