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Senate Judiciary votes to form commission on illicit massage businesses, increase penalties in HB 405
Summary
The committee advanced HB 405, which creates a commission to study illicit massage businesses and recommends changes to licensing and criminal penalties; law‑enforcement and advocacy testimony supported stepped enforcement, while some stakeholders urged caution on broad penalty increases.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted in executive session to recommend HB 405, a bill establishing a commission to study illicit massage businesses (IMBs) and proposing increased penalties and other statutory changes aimed at combating human trafficking and related criminal activity.
Representative Terry Roy, speaking for the bill, described a statewide pattern of storefronts and former residential properties operating as IMBs and said law enforcement needs a coordinated, multi‑stakeholder response. "Our law enforcement community is having a horrible, difficult time being able to interdict and take these perpetrators off of our streets and out of our businesses and out of our communities," Roy told the committee.
Erica Leon, sponsor of the bill, said licensing alone does not solve the problem and urged a commission that includes towns, health departments, law enforcement, and legitimate industry representatives. "This is a square peg," Leon said, arguing the problem does not fit neatly into existing licensing frameworks and requires tailored solutions.
Local officials and law enforcement testified in support. George Fioli, chief of police in Derry, said—as of March 2025—his town had six businesses that could be characterized as illicit massage businesses and that operators quickly reopen under new names or owners after enforcement actions. David McCormick, a retired state police lieutenant assigned to a federal human‑trafficking task force, described organizational patterns and said facilitating prostitution as a misdemeanor was insufficient to deter operators; he urged felony‑level penalties for facilitators.
Victim‑service and advocacy witnesses, including Pamela Kiley of the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and Meg Chant of the New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force, supported creating the commission and using enhanced penalties to deter traffickers and remove incentives for relocation into New Hampshire from neighboring states with stricter penalties.
Several witnesses and stakeholders urged caution about immediate, broad felony expansions without further study. Rebecca Cleary, an attorney and policy expert on prostitution and trafficking law, said existing trafficking and anti‑coercion statutes are already robust and recommended the commission study how current laws are being used before expanding penalties; Tricia Nabalu of the Erotic Laborers Alliance urged inclusion of sex‑work and massage‑therapy community representatives on any study panel to avoid unintended consequences for consenting adults.
In executive session the committee moved and approved an "ought to pass" recommendation for HB 405 as amended in the House. The amendment includes creating the commission and some statutory changes; committee members asked that the commission include interim reporting to permit early legislative response.
