City passes ordinance on massage parlors

BROWNSVILLE - The City Commission on Tuesday passed an ordinance to regulate massage parlors, which city officials say promote prostitution and exploit women.

The new ordinance requires massage parlors to register with the city and obtain a license at a fee of $250 a year.

Applicants have to provide a three-year history of their addresses, allow a criminal background check of the applicant or any officer or director, and the names, addresses, race, sex, date of birth and telephone numbers of all employees.

City Attorney Mark E. Sossi recently told The Brownsville Herald that the intent of the ordinance is not to burden legitimate businesses but to provide the health department with a tool to investigate establishments that could be operating illegally and exploiting women.

The ordinance does not apply to hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics, licensed physical therapists, licensed vocational schools of massage, offices or clinics of chiropractors or fitness trainers, barbershops, hair salons or nail salons.