Minors would need parental permission for ear piercings and tattoos under proposed legislation that would also require piercers and tattoo artists to undergo further training.

The current code, HFS 173, is undergoing massive revisions to improve the industry’s health requirements. A committee was formed in 2002 to review improvements to the code, including the requirement that tattooists and piercers take bacteriology classes, train as apprentices and pass certain courses and tests.

“Codes take a long time to change,” Greg Pallaske, Department of Health and Family Services food safety and recreational licensing section chief, said. “But we are concerned with cleanliness and education in the industry.”

The decision to change current law came about because of problems with “fly-by-nighters,” who administer piercings and tattoos in homes, with unsanitary tools.

“I think it’s a good idea because we deal with a lot of people who have had bad experiences,” Clay Ruby, manager of the Blue Lotus Tattoo and Piercing Lounge in Madison, said. “There should be regulations. We discourage any activity that would make our industry look bad.”

However, some vendors oppose particular regulations that they claim are irrelevant to these procedures. Melissa Kieser, manager of Piercing Pagoda in West Towne Mall, said she is against requiring piercing establishments to have running water.

“For the past nine months, we haven’t been able to pierce because we don’t have running water,” Kieser said. “If you have bacterial solutions, there’s no need for water.”

The new codes come at the same time state Rep. Bonnie Ladwig, R-Mount Pleasant, introduced Assembly Bill 381 that would regulate ear piercing, especially for minors. The bill aims to change the current law, expanding regulations to include everything from ear piercing to tongue splitting.

Current state health codes prohibit commercial shops from piercing any body parts of minors except for ears. However, since ear piercings that penetrate cartilage have become such a craze and are also more susceptible to infection than traditional ear-lobe piercing, legislators want to tighten all body-piercing regulations.

The DHFS asked the Legislature to regulate ear-piercing businesses in 1997, but industry representatives lobbied successfully to get exemptions from basic ear-piercing rules by citing low infection rates, Pallaske said.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea to regulate someone who is sticking a needle into your body,” he said.

The regional manager for piercing establishments, like Piercing Pagoda, was one of the supporters who pushed to get the regulations rescinded. However, he could not be reached for comment.

Regulators also hope to ban the sales of certain medical or veterinary supplies to minors as part of the effort to prevent health problems from piercing outside licensed establishments.

Penalties for health-code violations under the DHHS would be bumped from a maximum of 30 days in jail and $500 in fines to 60 days in jail, $1,000 in fines and 20 hours of community service, Pallaske said.