Sudbury Board of Health advances first body art regulations, sets permit fees

SUDBURY — May 2, 2023 — Sudbury Board of Health advances first body art regulations and sets permit fees. The board unanimously approved a draft regulation and a fee schedule — $600 annually for a facility, $600 for each practitioner, $300 for each apprentice and a one-time $200 plan review fee — pending town counsel review, at new Public Health Director Vivian Tseng's first meeting. The rules respond to a Texas-based tattoo and cosmetic art business seeking to open in town. "I would just be a little careful with how we restrict that," Tseng said, citing the state Supreme Judicial Court ruling that ended Massachusetts's 38-year tattoo ban. Members Susan Sama and Linda Huet-Clayton praised the draft as thorough. Separately, social worker Bethany Hadbab reported a $30,000 Sudbury Foundation grant for basic-needs gift cards, and the board signaled support for retaining the interim public health nurse part-time after a full-time hire.