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Committee backs bill tightening oversight of massage businesses after trafficking concerns
Summary
Lawmakers unanimously reported Senate Bill 221 with amendments after testimony about illicit massage businesses that investigators say are fronts for human trafficking; the bill requires criminal background checks, allows unannounced inspections on complaint, prohibits sleeping quarters and empowers license revocation.
After lawmakers and law‑enforcement representatives described repeated complaints about illicit massage businesses housing and exploiting victims, the House Commerce Committee on May 27 reported Senate Bill 221 with amendments to give regulators and investigators new tools.
Senator Mizell, sponsor of the bill, opened the discussion by recounting complaints from a sheriff’s deputy in East Baton Rouge about premises where “women, mostly immigrant, non‑English‑speaking women, are held in the building, they have sleep quarters in the building, their passports are taken away from them,” and where advertised services differ from what is happening behind…
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