SPOKANE, Wash. – On Monday night, Spokane City Council unanimously voted on an ordinance geared towards regulating massage therapists and reflexologists.
The ordinance, which Council President Lori Kinnear said was based on a similar measure passed in Kent, establishes a new chapter in Spokane City Code. The chapter requires all massage therapists and reflexologists to be over 18 and have a valid license to practice. It also gives police the ability to inspect parlors to make sure those rules are being followed.
Council believes these regulations will help crack down on covert human trafficking operations.
“What we’re seeing now are women coming over… typically from China,” Kinnear said during the meeting. “The organization is based on the West side, bringing women over here to ostensibly do massage. But there are other things that they do.”
Kinnear said the ordinance was about six months in the works, with a Spokane Police detective alerting her about why the measure was needed.
Violating the new chapter of city code carries a first-offense penalty of a misdemeanor and a repeat offender penalty of a gross misdemeanor. Additionally, the ordinance updates other parts of city code to allow officials to revoke or deny licenses for offenders, or those who have committed similar offenses in other places.
Kinnear says the measure is essential to keep up with Spokane Valley, who passed a similar ordinance in May.
“People who want to do human trafficking would then move over to another location,” Kinnear said. “The closest one would be the City of Spokane. I think we got ahead of this by passing this ordinance so that people are on notice.”
