Thursday, February 20, RENO, Nev. Council members voted on the ordinance in a meeting on Feb. They had directed city staff to start developing an ordinance in August following calls from police and other groups for stronger laws addressing illegal prostitution disguised as massage businesses last year.
Under the new regulations, operators of massage establishments in the city will be required to obtain an FBI background check and have a manager present during operating hours. Businesses are also no longer allowed to have an on-site ATM, tinted exterior windows, or recording devices in treatment rooms.
The ordinance also bans hour operations because standard massage establishments usually do business during the day, and illicit activities are more likely to occur at night. Currently, licensed therapists undergo an initial background investigation as part of a state licensing process, and some therapists complete a background check to receive national certification, but Reno does not require massage establishment owners to be licensed therapists at either the state or federal level.
In a phone interview with The Nevada Independent, Sandy Anderson, director of the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy, estimated that out of licensed massage establishments in the Truckee Meadows area, 26, or roughly 9 percent, were home to illicit activities.
Anderson said the board identifies illegal massage parlors by looking at whether businesses advertise sex on the internet and with data from the Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization committed to combating and preventing human trafficking. Although the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy might know what businesses are conducting illicit activities, Anderson said it is difficult to prove an organization is breaking the law.
