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Charles County commissioners introduced a bill Tuesday that would give the health department the power to license and shut down local massage parlors that law enforcement officials say are really houses of prostitution.
The bill, which appeared to have the support of all five commissioners, is the first local ordinance the commissioners will consider under code home rule, which expanded county government powers after approval by voters last fall. The commissioners set a public hearing on the massage parlor measure for 3 p.m. June 2.
The ordinance would require the dozen or so unlicensed massage parlors in Charles to obtain a county license. The Maryland Board of Chiropractic Examiners licenses massage therapists, but the board has too few inspectors to adequately enforce the law in Charles, local officials say.
The bill would "make sure that people are really getting a massage and not something else," said Commissioner Al Smith (R-Waldorf).
Under the bill, massage parlor owners, managers and each worker must register with the county and obtain a license. They would be fingerprinted and photographed by the Charles County sheriff's office. And to qualify for a license, all massage workers would be required to have 500 hours of training and pass an exam created by a national panel.
The bill would forbid anyone from residing in a massage parlor. It also requires massage therapists to wear "opaque clothing that completely covers their trunk and erogenous area."
The sheriff's office and the health department would have the power to shut down a massage parlor that is not licensed or violates any portion of the law.
The bill, which appeared to have the support of all five commissioners, is the first local ordinance the commissioners will consider under code home rule, which expanded county government powers after approval by voters last fall. The commissioners set a public hearing on the massage parlor measure for 3 p.m. June 2.
The ordinance would require the dozen or so unlicensed massage parlors in Charles to obtain a county license. The Maryland Board of Chiropractic Examiners licenses massage therapists, but the board has too few inspectors to adequately enforce the law in Charles, local officials say.
The bill would "make sure that people are really getting a massage and not something else," said Commissioner Al Smith (R-Waldorf).
Under the bill, massage parlor owners, managers and each worker must register with the county and obtain a license. They would be fingerprinted and photographed by the Charles County sheriff's office. And to qualify for a license, all massage workers would be required to have 500 hours of training and pass an exam created by a national panel.
The bill would forbid anyone from residing in a massage parlor. It also requires massage therapists to wear "opaque clothing that completely covers their trunk and erogenous area."
The sheriff's office and the health department would have the power to shut down a massage parlor that is not licensed or violates any portion of the law.
No more happy endings in Charles County.
