Background
The purpose of this legislation is to increase the scope of current convictions by which the License Section may deny an applicant’s application for a registration to operate a massage or bath establishment. This legislation will amend section 540.05 (B) of the Columbus City Codes by adding Ohio Revised Code Sections 2905.32 Trafficking in Persons; 2925.02 Corrupting Another with Drugs and 2925.03 Trafficking in Drugs as additional reasons that one cannot operate a massage or bath establishment within the City of Columbus.
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. Victims are forced, defrauded, or coerced into trafficking. Even if victims initially offer consent, that consent is rendered meaningless by the actions of the traffickers to exploit them for labor, services, or commercial sex. The most common age in Ohio for children to become victims of trafficking is 13 years old, and the number of Ohio children who become victims of human trafficking each year could fill a large high school.
City Council has conducted a series of hearings on Human Trafficking. During the fact finding portion of the hearings evidence was presented regarding the correlation between the operation of some massage parlors and bathhouses and trafficking in persons. As a result, City Council puts forth this ordinance on order to continue to find solutions that will help keep our most vulnerable citizens safe and to work toward putting an end to this problem.
Title
To amend existing section 540.05 of the Columbus City Codes to increase the scope of current convictions by which the License Section may deny an application to operate a massage or bath establishment within the City of Columbus.
Body
WHEREAS, the purpose of this legislation is to increase the scope of current convictions by which the License Section may deny an applicant’s request for a license for a massage or bath establishment, a...
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