The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health, safety, and welfare by licensing and regulating massage establishments, massage schools, and other similar businesses and the persons working in such massage establishments. The Board of Trustees finds and determines that licensing standards pertaining to massage establishment activities are necessary to protect the public health and safety and the personal safety of massage therapist/myomassologist. The Board of Trustees further finds that public health and safety is best served by the adoption of a model ordinance providing for regulation of massage activities in a manner that is consistent throughout the Charter Township of Clinton. The purpose of this ordinance is to insure the protection of the public health and safety and the personal safety of massage therapist/myomassologist through the establishment of certain licensing standards pertaining to massage therapy business activities within the Township and to recognize massage therapy as a legitimate business occupation and health enhancement service. The Township Board further recognizes that human trafficking is a significant problem in the United States, that it can involve the use of massage establishments or massologist activities as a front where victims are forced into involuntary servitude, deceived into debt bondage and forced against their will to perform sex acts. The Federal government has passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and statistics have been accumulated by the United States Department of State as well as the United States Department of Justice and independent researchers and analysts. Human trafficking is ranked behind only drugs and arms trafficking as profitable criminal activity. It is estimated that more than eighty percent of trafficking victims are female and eighty percent of trafficking involves sexual exploitation. Physical injury and disease are other consequences of trafficking exploitation. Substantial portions of persons who are subject to trafficking are under the age of eighteen. Numerous studies exist outlining the various aspects of human trafficking including trafficking within the United States warranting the adoption of ordinance provisions in order to assist in detecting possible human trafficking. The holding of any massage business license is hereby declared to be a privilege, and not a right. The provisions of this chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, and general welfare of the people of the Township receiving services from massage establishments.
(Ord. 376. Passed 6-16-08; Ord. 423. Passed 6-13-16.)