Regulating the Massage Industry: Challenges and Opportunities, continued
Problems Since Enactment The benefits of a pilot program include the ability to determine what worked and what didn’t. Unfortunately, many things related to SB 731 are not working for local governments. Since the enactment of SB 731, some jurisdictions have seen a tremendous increase in the number of massage establishments as a whole, which wouldn’t be a bad thing were it not for the increase in illicit massage establishments as well. And the increase isn’t just one or two businesses. Jurisdictions such as Huntington Beach went from nine massage establishments in 2009 to 74 establishments in 2014, and the number continues to grow. San Gabriel, a city of four square miles, has more than 55 massage establishments. The prohibition on local regulation seems to have created additional opportunities for brothels and
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human trafficking. According to law enforcement personnel, indications of illegal activity abound at businesses that: • Claim to offer massage but have locked doors with security cameras; • Employ only women; • Have a strictly male clientele; • Employ individuals with no identification or passports; and • Present indications of people sleeping on-site at the business. While CAMTC is responsible for the certification of massage professionals, it does not have the authority to regulate the businesses or their owners. And because jurisdictions do not “uniformly” regulate professional services, businesses claiming to use only certified massage therapists go unregulated by either CAMTC or the city where they are located. Cities and counties typically adopt land-use and licensing regulations that respond to the location and the types of issues associated with a particular business model (for example, restaurants that operate a drive-through are often regulated very differently than those without one).
Closing these illicit businesses has proved daunting. Police stings result in arrests of both certified and uncertified workers; the following day, the massage establishments are again open for business. A raid in Huntington Beach in February 2013 resulted in the arrest for prostitution of two women who were CAMTC-certified. Three weeks later, the women were still listed on the CAMTC website as active.
League Priorities Many cities have contacted the League about the issues related to SB 731. The League is working to ensure that if the provisions of SB 731 are extended, cities regain some of the tools they need to address the problems associated with this legislation. Some of these priorities include: • Having a state agency instead of a nonprofit oversee the certification and/ or licensing of massage professionals; • Requiring owners of massage establishments to register or be certified by either CAMTC or the local government. Registration will provide the owners with a vested interest in abiding by the law; continued on page 17
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