Since Jan. Scott Musgrave said. Investigations are underway at some of the remaining 10 businesses. The latest crackdown is part of a multi-agency effort designed to expose fake masseuses and provide stricter guidelines for the businesses who employ them.
Before , each city was responsible for certifying massage therapists and technicians in its jurisdiction. That changed with the Massage Therapy Act.
From , the California Massage Therapy Council was put in charge of issuing voluntary certifications to massage technicians. The idea was to streamline certifications for therapists working in several cities, council CEO Ahmos Netanel said. Otherwise, they would have had to get permits in each city they were working. But SB, passed in , contained a tricky provision: if everyone working at a massage business is certified, the city must apply the same land use restrictions to other professional businesses.
The provision offered protection from local zoning and land use laws, and made it harder for local jurisdictions to restrict the opening of illicit businesses, Netanel said. Once SB was enacted, the number of local massage parlors skyrocketed, said Corona police Sgt. At one point there were 52 massage parlors in town, most along a half-mile stretch of Sixth Street, just west of Grand Boulevard, Mercado said.
The council does not keep data on the number of massage businesses in the state. There were loopholes in the new law, too. The new law, enacted in and known as the Massage Therapy Act, is clearer about contact and attire. Questionable businesses cast a negative light on legitimate massage businesses, Mercado said.
