City Council on Tuesday voted forward from a first reading a “Massage Establishment Ordinance” proposed to replace Statesboro’s 1994 “Massage Ordinance” and also advanced a proposed “Salon Ordinance” to regulate nail and hair salons and similar cosmetology places in accordance with state law.
The proposed ordinances are not city law yet, but the council could now vote final approval during its next regular meeting, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 21. Public hearings were held on both proposed ordinances as part of the 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7 regular meeting, and no citizens signed up to speak on either.
But the mayor and council had heard from some massage establishment owners during previous meetings and a work session. City Attorney Cain Smith noted that some adjustments had been made after input from “stakeholders.”
“Our current Massage Ordinance dates from 1994, and since then there’s been a wholesale change in state law,” Smith told the officials and public. “So this revision is to reflect current state laws and practices. … It gives us the right to license, regulate and sanction massage establishments.”
In addition to the full wording of the proposed ordinance, the mayor and council members received a cover memo, addressed from City Clerk Leah Harden and City Manager’s Executive Assistant Brittany McLamb.
“Statesboro needs a massage therapy establishment ordinance to help prevent illegal activities like prostitution and human trafficking from operating under the guise of legitimate massage therapy businesses,” a sentence in the memo asserts.
As Smith noted, the ordinance would direct violations to an assigned administrative judge and also allow the city to report violations to state authorities. City staff members reviewed ordinances from Cobb County, Augusta, Kennesaw and Savannah. Statesboro’s ordinance, as proposed, will “mirror” the ordinance Cobb County put into effect in 2024, the memo states.
The proposed ordinance provides for a $200 minimum fine for the first violation, within the last three years, of any of its provisions, and a $400 minimum fine for subsequent violations. It also provides for suspensions, up to 12 months, or revocation of the massage establishments business’s license.
“The City Clerk may immediately suspend license upon violation with enumerate grounds for suspension,” the ordinance states. But the business owner, or licensee, would then have the right to a hearing before the administrative judge.
City business license office employees or the Police Department would have the right to inspect an establishment during its business hours. The licensees, owners or managers would be mandated to provide the city a list of all employees required to have a Georgia state massage therapy license, along with a copy of the licenses and the employees’ home addresses, telephone numbers and dates of birth.
Licensees themselves will be required to be U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents, residents of Georgia and Georgia-licensed massage therapists.
The massage businesses would be required to maintain a “record of treatments,” with the names, phone numbers, and addresses of all the individuals receiving treatment, along with the type of treatment, cost of treatment and the name of the employee administering the treatment.
Hours of operation would be restricted to 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. “or by recorded appointment,” and no employee would be allowed to remain in the business between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. “unless there is a recorded appointment.”
‘Human trafficking’ concern
“There are some things in there that are really designed to put the lid on human trafficking, such as not having extensive cooking abilities, wardrobes with multiple changes of clothes, these things that are indicative of someone living inside of the business,” Smith said in an interview after Tuesday’s meeting.
The ordinance states, “At no time will any person reside or lodge either temporarily or permanently in the massage establishment.” It states that the presence of beds or mattresses, other than professional massage tables, or of bedding such as pillows, blankets and sheets, of sleepwear, groceries, cooking equipment, or even more than one change of clothing per person or personal grooming and hygiene items could be evidence of the establishment being used as lodging.
No massages are to be given in any room, cubicle or booth “with a lock of any kind” unless the only door is a door to the outside, and the front and other public access doors to the establishment are to remain unlocked during business hours, the proposed ordinance states.
It also calls for a notice regarding human trafficking be displayed in all bathrooms and near public entrances, “as required by state law.”
Massage establishment license applicants can be denied or their licenses later revoked if they have violated any law or regulation relating to such a business in the five years before applying.
Similarly, they will not be allowed to employ anyone convicted in the previous five years for a felony, violation of a conspiracy or racketeering law, or anyone who “performs any immoral or indecent act with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of either the employee or another person.”
But the new ordinance, now pending final approval, removes some language in the old ordinance which would have the city trying to regulate “some things we were not able to regulate,” Smith said.
“The prime example (was) that men massage men and women massage women (only)” under the old rules, he said. That is not part of current Georgia law or the proposed Statesboro update.
Salon ordinance
The proposed salon ordinance is not an update but something Statesboro has not had before. But it will also allow the city to bring violations in front of the administrative judge and report them to state authorities.
“While state law sets the baseline for the salon industry, a local ordinance gives the City of Statesboro the necessary tools to regulate the businesses within its city limits, ensuring they operate safely and legally,” the memo asserts.
Some more details will be reported before council’s slated final vote.