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CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM |
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Department: |
City Attorney’s Office |
Commission Meeting Date: March 7, 2017 |
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Staff Contact: |
Maria Garcia, Assistant City Attorney |
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Recommendations/Options/Action Requested: |
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Adopt on first reading Ordinance No. 9305 pertaining to the licensing and regulation of massage therapy businesses within the City of Lawrence. |
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Executive Summary: |
Kansas is one of only a handful of states[1] that does not regulate the massage therapy industry on a state level. While proposed legislation setting licensing standards has been introduced in the Kansas Legislature several times in previous years[2], each time the bills have died in committee.
Because there is no state law regulating the massage therapy industry, it is left to municipalities to adopt local ordinances to establish laws governing licensing fees and educational standards, for example, before allowing a business to operate or a person to work as a massage therapist. Many Kansas cities have adopted comprehensive ordinances addressing massage therapy, which staff has spent significant time reviewing. Those cities include Wichita (Chapter 3.55); Kansas City (Chapter 20; 19-388), Leawood (Chapter 5, Art. 5), Shawnee (Chapter 5.40), Lenexa (Article 2-3-A); Olathe (Chapter 5.36); and Overland Park (Chapter 5.50). Existing laws from those cities are attached.
The Lawrence City Code has limited language concerning massage businesses, but it does explicitly prohibit “massage shops” in Lawrence. That short section of the Code is the only one currently addressing massage in Lawrence, and does not prescribe any licensing or regulation. See §§ 6-201; 6-210. The language currently places massage in the category of “non-entertainment sexually oriented businesses,” but through Ordinance 9305 that categorization is being repealed and replaced with new Article 20 dedicated entirely to the profession of massage therapy.
Early last fall, Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson sent a letter to the City Commission encouraging it to adopt an ordinance that would regulate the massage industry in Lawrence. He explained a recent human trafficking case his office prosecuted, and noted that having local regulations could help “cut-off what is currently an easy path for human traffickers.” That memorandum is attached. Staff believes that while most massage businesses in Lawrence are legitimate, implementing this ordinance would help stop human trafficking cases that could occur from making it to prosecution in the first place, by setting standards with which businesses must comply.
Staff drafted an ordinance last fall based upon research it conducted into what other cities and states have in their regulations. Staff shared that first draft with massage therapy businesses late last fall, and subsequent to that spent a significant amount of time meeting with massage therapists on multiple occasions to discuss the draft language. The topic appeared on a City Manager’s report December 6, 2016, with an update on staff’s progress on the Ordinance and anticipating that the Ordinance would be placed on a City Commission agenda in early 2017.
Based upon the feedback staff received at various meetings with massage therapists, a second draft ordinance was created incorporating language addressing a majority of concerns raised by massage therapists while still observing the goals set out (1) to implement a reasonable licensing scheme, and (2) to assist the Lawrence Police Department in its effort to combat human trafficking. The most recent draft is attached for the City Commission’s review.
The cost of obtaining an initial massage therapist license is $75, and $50 to renew every two years. The initial cost is the sum of a $20 background check conducted by the City, $30 in staff time to thoroughly review an application and issue a license, and $15 for and identification card, to be created by the City Clerk. The cost of registering a massage therapy business is $75, due only once upon registration.
The City Commission has four options moving forward: (1) Adopt Ordinance 9305 as written; (2) Reject Ordinance 9305; (3) Recommend changes to Ordinance 9305 and place it back on a future agenda; (4) Schedule a work session for further discussion. |
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Strategic Goal Area: |
Public safety |
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Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source): |
The fiscal impact is minimal. Administrative costs of licensing massage therapy businesses are offset by the license and registration fees. |
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Attachments:
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Reviewed By: (for CMO use only) |
☒TM ☐DS ☐CT ☐BM |