Pennsylvania tattoo parlors may be required to have health department licenses

The law as envisioned by Auditor General Jack Wagner would also require parlors to have liability insurance and would require fines for artists who operate illegally.

View full sizeExpress-Times File Photo | STEPHEN FLOODStacey Donadio, of Bethlehem, who owns Sacred Art Custom Tattoo & Body Piercing in Nazareth, prepares a tattoo gun at her shop. There are several tattoo parlors in the Lehigh Valley

Auditor General Jack Wagner wants the Pennsylvania Department of Health to license and regulate the state's 750 tattoo parlors.

Wagner, a former Pittsburgh City Council president, was in the city for the announcement Tuesday.

He's sent a letter to the health department, Gov. Tom Corbett, state lawmakers and others arguing that the parlors should not only be licensed but be subject to safety and sanitation standards governed by the health department.

Among other things, Wagner is pushing for a law that would require minimum training requirements for tattoo artists, and that they be certified in dealing with blood-borne illnesses, first aid and CPR.

The law as envisioned by Wagner would also require parlors to have liability insurance and would require fines for artists who operate illegally.