Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed a measure into law on Friday regulating tattoo and piercing studios in the state. Under the new law, the studios must follow state health and safety requirements, such as sterilization and sanitation techniques, to receive certification, and must register their premises annually. The Illinois Department of Public Health will inspect the studios to ensure compliance, and may also grant temporary registrations for facilities to accommodate tattoo conventions for example.

What’s interesting about the law is that it was the result of lobbying by the Illinois Coalition of Community Blood Centers to increase the number of potential blood donors by allowing people to donate blood within a year of getting tattoos or piercings. The blood will still undergo rigorous testing, but abolishing the current year-long wait will no longer discourage the tattooed and pierced from donating — and, overall, no longer make people feel like social pariahs.

The new law takes effect July 1, 2007 for the estimated 425 tattoo and piercing studios in the state.

Source: Needled.Com