ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

OLYMPIA — Whitney Nash, a bartender from Florida, is well-versed in the ways of the body-piercing industry after going through a piercing-apprenticeship program.

So Nash was surprised to learn that Washington, unlike Florida, has no body-piercing health regulations written into law. "Oh my God, are you serious?" Nash said. "That's insane."

The fact that infectious diseases — such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, hepatitis B and MRSA — can spread through improperly sterilized equipment has prompted lawmakers, with encouragement from lobbyists, to take a stand.

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