Federal law enforcement officers have discovered illicit massage parlors in every New Hampshire county, with victims of human trafficking being forced to have sex with customers. The National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 75 victims in New Hampshire in , most involving sex in illicit massage parlors and spas. Local ordinances have proven ineffective, they said, and criminal cases are a challenge because trafficking victims, who often rely on their employers for food and shelter, are too scared to cooperate.
For at least the fifth time in five years, proponents are asking lawmakers to expand licensing to massage establishments; currently, only individual therapists must have a license. Chris Sununu is joining them, even as he seeks to repeal more than 30 other professional licenses.
(mh=PNv9gO9FIWtyqlju)0.jpg "Babes Concord")
Their last hope looks to be the state budget, which will likely be finalized in June. Sununu included a massage establishment license in his budget along with more than pages of other proposals that would significantly scale back other state licensing powers.
With lawmakers saying they had too little time to consider all the changes, the House Finance Committee is recommending the full House eliminate nearly all of them, including the massage establishment license. If the House agrees when it takes up the budget Thursday, proponents would have to persuade the Senate to reinstate it. Lawmakers have cited several concerns, from the burden and cost of an additional license to fears that the licensing office will become an arm of law enforcement.
There has also been skepticism about the existence of human trafficking in the state, even as evidence indicates otherwise. Between and , U. Of the 1, people prosecuted in federal courts for human trafficking in , were convicted.
