Concerned that a number of Los Angeles County’s massage parlors are nothing more than fronts for illicit sex trade and illegal-labor trafficking, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to craft an ordinance that requires annual health and safety inspections of such establishments.

The 5-0 vote on a motion introduced by supervisors Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis means that the proposed ordinance could require massage therapy businesses in the unincorporated areas of the county to pay for a health permit to fund the annual inspections. The motion directs several county departments to work together to craft an ordinance and present it to the board for a discussion and a vote within 180 days. Cities within the county also would have the option to adopt the ordinance.

Hahn said such inspections would help stem sex and labor abuse, especially within immigrant communities where more people are likely to be exploited.

“I want to bring this forward because it’s been increasingly clear to me some of the massage parlors have been safe havens for sex trafficking and human trafficking,” Hahn said.”They offer massages as low as $15. Something doesn’t add up.”

Far too many massage parlors serve as safe havens for human trafficking! Routine inspections will protect public health & prevent horrendous labor violations from taking place in our backyard. https://t.co/00Jfsv92v9 — Janice Hahn (@SupJaniceHahn) November 21, 2017

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State law doesn’t require routine health and safety inspections of businesses that provide massage therapy, a fact that concerned Los Angeles County Hahn during a Board meeting in June. Such protocols can be established by each city and county across California. In Los Angeles County, inspections are conducted only by request from the tax collector’s office so that businesses in unincorporated areas can receive a license to operate. While the county’s Department of Public Health does offer inspections to its more than 80 municipalities, only two cities — Bell and City of Commerce — have agreed to contracts.

But annual health and safety inspections of such establishments may not stop the illicit activity from continuing, said Jeannie Martin, president of the California chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association last week, when she heard about the upcoming discussion. The association, which has 5,700 members statewide, would not be opposed to being regulated in the same way as those who operate chiropractic or acupuncture establishments, Martin said.

Many massage therapists are voluntarily certified through the California Massage Therapy Council, a consumer-advocacy group. Many cities and counties have opted to require such certification rather than pass ordinances or try to police the businesses themselves, Martin noted.

“One concern we would have is if the fee was excessive,” Martin said, if Los Angeles County were to move forward on requiring health and safety inspections. She said such a law may end up hurting law abiding therapists.

But Solis said she’s seeing too many such establishments opening in obscure areas in her district.

“I do believe there is a need for us to regulate in a way that helps to prevent abuse,” she added.

The health & safety of my constituents is my number one concern. Today, the #BOS passed my motion, co-authored with @SupJaniceHahn, to prepare an ordinance setting annual health & safety inspections for massage establishments throughout the County. More: https://t.co/rP84OBpdp6 — Hilda Solis (@HildaSolis) November 21, 2017

Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Capt. Chris Marks, with the Human Trafficking bureau, said deputies work with organizations that have found two Chinese-language job boards, for example, that listed 1500 separate ads for massage workers. Marks said 25 percent of the phone numbers listed were found on sex sites.

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Residents and those who lead organizations that work with human trafficking survivors spoke in favor of the proposed ordinance.

Corinne Ho, the former presiden of the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council, said such an ordinance will play a crucial role in combaing trafficking.

“This motion makes sense,” she said. “It establishes health and safety codes to get more eyes and enforcement.”

L.A. County resident Red Chief Hunt told the board he’s visited many massage establishments and agreed with the proposed ordinance.

“Some of them are clean. Some of them are not,” he said. “It’s well deserving that this (ordinance) be passed right away.”