2024 Session: Florida sex trafficking bill targets massage parlors. Are nail salons next? - Tallahassee Democrat

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Florida aims to crack down on massage parlors as a way to stop sex work and combat human trafficking.

And nail salons might be next, according to one legislator.

A bill titled "Health Care Practitioners and Massage Therapy" (HB 197) would strengthen massage parlor requirements, including how dark they are allowed to tint their windows, and increase penalties for licensed massage therapists who are found to have participated in sexual misconduct. It unanimously cleared the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee Thursday afternoon.

Florida ranked third in the United States in human trafficking cases reported in 2021, behind California and Texas, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.


"There's no question (that) there's more work to be done," said bill sponsor Vicki Lopez, R-Miami. "If we are the third largest state, (and) still after all these years working, (human traffickers) are beating us. We must beat back."

The bill is a bipartisan effort, co-sponsored by two Democrats, and aims to shut down illicit massage parlors from operating, Lopez told the Democrat.

“We have a huge human trafficking issue here in South Florida, and it needs to be addressed,” added Rep. Robin Bartleman, D-Weston, a co-sponsor. “We have higher rates than the rest of the nation. I think that this bill is a step in the right direction.”

The bill expressly prohibits any sexual activity within a massage establishment and significantly expands the Florida Department of Health's ability to issue an emergency suspension of a license. A request for comment is pending with lobbyists for the Florida State Massage Therapy Association.


Under current law, a license can only be suspended if a massage therapist or a massage establishment is convicted or pleads guilty.

The bill would allow state health officials to suspend the licenses of the establishment and the employee if the agency finds "probable cause" of sex work, regardless of consent, or sexual misconduct. A finding of probable cause means it's more likely than not than a crime has occurred.

The bill adds requirements for storefronts and limits the window tint to 35%, meaning 35% of visible light penetrates the window. It restricts curtain or blind coverage of the façade; the public must be able to see the reception area from the outside.

Massage therapists also would have to be fully clothed "and such clothing must be fully opaque and made of nontransparent material that does not expose the employee's genitalia," the bill says, unless the business is licensed as a clothing-optional establishment or chartered with the American Association for Nude Recreation.


Furthermore, if a massage therapist isn't able to produce valid government identification, they will be referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Lopez explained on Thursday. She also said undocumented victims of human trafficking will receive a visa as a reward.

"The Department of Homeland Security is trying to protect these victims. They will embrace them," she told committee members.


DHS currently gives a special designation to victims of human trafficking, called Continued Presence, that allows victims to remain in the U.S. with a work visa for two years with possibility of renewal.

Are nail salons next?​

The bill does not currently include any measures to assist victims of human trafficking outside of referring them to DHS. It does, however, add eight full-time state health positions to put the bill's provisions into effect. Current staffing isn't capable of the workload, Lopez said.

The creation of new state jobs, however, is in contrast to what Gov. Ron DeSantis boasted as he unveiled his budget proposal last December. The Focus on Florida's Future plan includes cutting over 1,000 state jobs.

"I think he means to cut state government where we don't need people, but where we do need them, I'm sure he would be very supportive of it," Lopez told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Rep. Kevin Steele, R-Dade City, said there was more to be done to combat sex trafficking and wants to look into regulating nail salons next. "It's not just sex that they traffic, they traffic human life," he said.

Both nail salons and massage parlors make headlines nationally as fronts for human and sex trafficking operations, but sex worker advocate Alex Andrews told the Tallahassee Democrat most human trafficking happens in Florida's tourism and agriculture sectors.

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, massage parlors come in second to hotel and motels.

Andrews, who works with the Sex Workers Outreach Project and SWOP Behind Bars, said the state is unequipped to handle treating sex workers and sex trafficking survivors and believes the bill will only harm, not help, especially a provision that would outlaw condoms in massage establishments.

Here's why, Andrews explained: Florida's HIV diagnoses have risen in recent years. In 2021, 4,708 persons were diagnosed with HIV, a 37% increase from 2020, according to DOH.

"The Florida health department has failed in its efforts to do outreach to people living with HIV and Hep C," she told the Democrat. "Now what you're going to do is you're just going to yank their license, you're going to take away their ability to earn a living, and you're going to force them into the sex trade."

Lopez doesn't agree: "I don't think there should be any condoms in any massage establishments because sexual activity is not permitted. It's an illegal activity," she said.

Lopez said whether it's for labor or sex, in massage parlors or nail salons, this bill is another step to stop human traffickers from operating in Florida.

"I'm coming after all of them," she said.

Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.

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