A bill that would crack down on illegally-operated massage parlors passed unanimously in a House committee Wednesday. A group of Florida lawmakers hope the measure will stop those kinds of places from engaging in prostitution and human trafficking.
Democratic Representative Dave Kerner says he’s heard from law enforcement officers and prosecutors that most prostitution and trafficking activities occur at night, so the bill has measures in place to combat that.
“It makes it a first degree misdemeanor to operate a massage establishment between the hours of 10 and 6 a.m. And, a person operating the massage establishment, it restricts them to use or permit such an establishments to be used as a ‘principle domicile.’ In other words, it will not allow workers to live in these establishments, unless it is an establishment zoned for residential use,” said Kerner.
There are some exceptions, like licensed professionals conducting massages late into the night at a hospice, a hospital or other places, like a hotel, motel, or inn. The bill is sponsored by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, which passed the measure on a 13-0 vote.
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