BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 285|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 285
Author: Correa (D)
Amended: 5/24/11
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 05/03/11
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Massage therapy certification
SOURCE : Orange County District Attorney
DIGEST : The bill provides 1) that any person who falsely
asserts or affirms, including through issuance of an
unearned diploma or certificate, that a person has received
massage therapy instruction, is guilty of a misdemeanor,
with a maximum jail term of one year and a fine of up to
$2,500; and 2) that where any person is prosecuted for a
crime connected with massage therapy, including
prostitution, a law enforcement agency may inform the
California Massage Therapy Council about the person's
massage therapy training, including the name of any school
the person attended, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law includes a process for voluntary
certification by a non-profit Massage Therapy Organization
(the California Massage Therapy Council) of a person as a
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massage therapist or related professional. (Bus. & Prof.
Code § 4600 et seq.)
Existing law provides that a person must complete 250 hours
of specified training to obtain certification as a massage
practitioner. (Bus. & Prof. Code § 4601, subd. (a).)
Existing law provides that a person must complete 500 hours
of specified training to obtain certification as a massage
therapist. (Bus. & Prof. Code § 4601, subd. (c).)
Existing law provides that certification is valid for two
years. (Bus. & Prof. Code § 4601, subd. (f).)
Existing law provides that a person who obtains a
certificate has the right to practice massage in any city,
county or city and county in California. (Bus. & Prof. Code
§ 4612, subd. (a).)
Existing law authorizes local government entities to enact
reasonable health and safety requirements for massage
establishments and zoning rules that do not discriminate
against massage businesses. (Bus. & Prof. Code § 4612,
subds. (a)-(b).)
Existing law authorizes local government entities to
regulate massage services by persons who are not certified.
(Bus. & Prof. Code § 4613.)
This bill provides that any person who provides a
certificate, diploma or other document, or otherwise
affirms that a person has received massage therapy
instruction, knowing that the person has not received such
training, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine
of no more than $2,500, or imprisonment in county jail for
up to one year, or both.
This bill provides that any person who is criminally
prosecuted for a violation of law in connection with
massage therapy, including crimes related to prostitution,
the arresting law enforcement agency may inform the
California Massage Therapy Council (created pursuant to
Section 4600.5) about the instruction received by the
person prosecuted, including the name of any school
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attended by the prosecuted person.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/11)
Orange County District Attorney (source)
Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs
California Fraternal Order of Police
California Massage Therapy Council
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
This legislation addresses fraudulent issuance of
transcripts by massage schools. Criminalizing this
conduct will deter massage schools from assisting
human traffickers in sexually exploiting women. In
addition, the identity of the massage school attended
by a massage therapist who has been prosecuted for
prostitution should be provided to the California
Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) so that massage
schools that are in league with human traffickers can
be readily identified.
Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing
criminal industries in the world. Traffickers reap
billions in profits by using force, fraud, and
coercion to rob victims of their freedom. According
to the U.S. State Department there are 12.3 million
human trafficking victims around the world; 56 percent
of whom are women and girls. In 2009, 49,105 victims
were identified worldwide, a 59 percent increase over
2008.
California is a prime target for traffickers. The 2007
Human Trafficking in California Final Report found
that the majority of victims were non-citizens, with
or without valid travel documents. The report stated
that prostitution was the most common form (47 %) of
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human trafficking followed by domestic servitude (33
%) and agriculture (2 %).
Increasingly, human trafficking victims to work in
illegitimate massage parlors, providing sexual
services under the guise of massage therapy.
Traffickers bring in women, often from Asia, and force
them to work off the debt of being smuggled into the
United States by working in massage parlors as
prostitutes.
In order for a trafficking victim to work in a massage
parlor, either a local police department permit or a
certificate from the California Massage Therapy
Council (CAMTC) is required. The CAMTC was
established by the Legislature to certify massage
therapists statewide. Police and CAMTC require a
transcript from a massage school certifying that the
student has received 500 hours of massage training, in
English. Many victims speak little or no English and
could not complete such training and traffickers do
not want to wait six months for victims to complete
training. Thus, the traffickers purchase falsified
massage school transcripts. Ending access to
fraudulent transcripts will make human trafficking
significantly more difficult. Unfortunately, under
existing law, it is not a crime to sell someone a
phony massage school transcript. This bill would
remedy that problem.
This bill addresses a second problem. Each police
department only knows of massage school-related
prostitution arrests in their local area. This
information is not collated in a single location and
made available to law enforcement agencies. This
makes it very difficult to identify the fraudulent
massage schools. This legislation would require this
information be provided to CAMTC for distribution to
all law enforcement agencies who wish to receive it.
RJG:nl 5/23/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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