REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Study Session: Potential Amendments to the Existing Massage Ordinance
Report
BACKGROUND
Prior to 2009, the jurisdiction of massage-related businesses fell under the purview of local municipalities. The City's Community Development Director administered zoning compliance for massage as a land use and the Finance Department handled the business license and collection of fees, while the Chief of Police managed individual massage therapist and massage establishment owner licenses to practice massage, the permitting process, verification of insurance and notification of acceptance or denial to work in Santa Clara.
The California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) was created in 2009, as a result of Senate Bill 731. From 2009-2015, CAMTC was the governing non-profit board in the State of California authorized to evaluate the qualifications of massage therapists or practitioners and issue certification and local jurisdictions were limited in their ability to regulate massage establishments. The massage industry can be susceptible to criminal activity, including human trafficking, paid sexual services, robberies and sexual assaults. During this timeframe, every massage business establishment was required to:
? Provide the Santa Clara Police Department with a copy or other evidence of a massage therapy organization (MTO) certificate for every person employed or retained by the business or establishment to provide massage therapy within thirty (30) calendar days of the commencement of such person's period of employment.
? Maintain on its premises a copy or other evidence of each such MTO certificate for review by the Santa Clara Police Department.
Assembly Bill 1147, also known as the "Massage Therapy Act," went into effect on January 1, 2015 and re-established the authority of local jurisdictions to impose land use, business licensing, and health and safety regulations on massage establishments including local permit requirements. C...
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