O1792
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CA:MJM:f:\atty\muni\laws\massage.2d
city Council Meeting 3-21-95 Santa Monica, California
ORDINANCE NUMBER 1792
(city council Series)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA MONICA AMENDING SANTA MONICA
MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS 6.104.030, 6.104.080, 6.104.110
AND 6.104.170 RELATING TO REGULATION OF MASSAGE TECHNICIANS
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
Section 6.104.030 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code is amended to read as follows:
6.104.030 Application and examination for
operator's and off-premise operator's permit.
Any person desiring an operator's permit
for a massage establishment or off-premise
massage
business
shall
file
a written
application with the License Office of the city
of Santa Monica on a form required by the Chief
of POlice, pay filing fees, the amount of which
shall be established by ordinance, resolution,
or other lawful means, and pass an examination
administered by the City.
The application
shall contain or be accompanied by the
following:
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(a) A statement containing the type of
ownership of the business, i . e., whether by
individual, partnership, corporation, or
otherwise.
(b) A statement containing the precise
name under which the massage establishment or
off-premise massage business is to be
conducted.
ec) A statement containing the complete
address and all telephone numbers of the
massage establishment or off-premise massage
business.
(d) A statement containing a complete
list of the names and residence addresses of
all proposed massage technicians and employees
in the massage establishment or off -premise
massage business and the name and residence
addresses of the manager or managing employee
proposed to be principally in charge of the
operation of the massage establishment or off-
premise massage business.
(e) The following personal information
concerning the applicant:
(1) Name and complete residence
address.
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(2) Two immediately prior residence
addresses.
(3) Date of birth.
(4) Height, weight, color of hair
and eyes, and sex.
(5) The massage or similar business
history and experience of the applicant,
including but not limited to, whether or not
such person, in previously operating a massage
establishment or similar business in this or
any other City or state under license or permit
has had such license or permit denied, revoked,
or suspended and the reasons therefor.
(6) All criminal convictions
excluding traffic misdemeanor or infraction
violations.
(f) The followin~ identification:
(1) A valid California driver's
license or valid California identification
card.
(2) Two (2) front faced portrait
photographs at least two inches by two inches
in size taken by the Police Department.
(3) A complete set of fingerprints
taken by the Police Department. For purposes
of this Section, applicant shall mean the owner
and the operator of the proposed massage
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establishment, if a sole proprietorship; each
general partner, if a partnership; each officer
and director, if a corporation; each
participant, if a joir.t venture.
(q) Such other information and
identification as is deemed necessary by the
Chief of Police.
(h) Authorization for the City, its
agents and employees to sepk verification of
the information contained in the application.
(i) A statement in writing by the
applicant that he or she certified under
penalty of perjury that all information
contained in the application is true and
correct.
Prior to the issuance of an operator's
permit or an off-premise operator's permit, the
applicant must pass a written examination. The
examination shall be given by the Personnel
Department quarterly and at least every ninety
(90) days, and shall be updated or revised
periodically by the Chief of Police. The
examination shall include the requirements of
this Chapter to ensure substantial
understanding of the operator's and manager's
duties. An applicant who fails the examination
may retake it; however, an applicant who fails
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the examination three times shall be ineligible
to re-take the examination for one (1) year
thereafter. An additional fee may be imposed
by the city for each re-examination.
SECTION 2. section 6.104.080 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code is amended to read as follows:
6.104.080. Application and exaaination
for massage technician's permit.
Any person desiring a massage technician
permit in a massage establishment or off-
premise massage business, shall file with the
License Office of the City of Santa Monica a
written application on a form required by the
Chief of Police, pay filing fees, the amount of
which shall be established by ordinance,
resolution, or other lawful means, and pass an
examination administered by the City. The
License Office shall make a determination as to
whether or not the application is complete
within ten (10) days of the filing of the
application. The application shall contain or
be accompanied by the following:
(a) If known, a statement of the exact
location at which the applicant will be working
as a massage technician or the central business
address for an off-premise massage technician,
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including the full street address and all
telephone numbers associated with said
location. If the applicant will be working in
a massage establishment, the application shall
indicate the name and addr~ss of the massage
establishment.
(b) A statement in writing from a
physician licensed in the state of California
on a form approved by the Chief of Police that
he or she has examined the applicant within the
past thirty (30) day period preceding said
application and has found the applicant to be
free from all communicable diseases.
(c) The following personal information
concerning the applicant:
(1) Name and C'omplete residence
address.
(2) Two (2) immediately prior
residence addresses.
(3) Date of birth.
(4) Height, weight, color of hair
and eyes, and sex.
(S) The massage or similar business
history and experience of the applicant,
including but not limited to, whether or not
such person, in previously performing massage
services or operating a massage establishment
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or similar business in this or any other city
or state under license or permit has had such
license or permit denied, revoked, or suspended
and the reasons therefor.
(6)
All
criminal
convictions
excluding traff ic misdemeanor or infraction
violations.
(7) If the applicant possesses one,
a valid United states visa.
(d) The following identification:
(1) A valid California driver's
license or valid California identification
card.
(2) Two (2) front faced portrait
photographs at least two inches by two inches
in size taken by the Police Department.
(3) A complete set of fingerprints
taken by the Police Department.
(e) A diploma or certificate of
graduation and a transcript from an Approved
School. The term II Approved School fI means and
includes a school or institution of learning
licensed by the state of California and
approved by the state Superintendent of Public
Instruction pursuant to Education Code section
943110 and reviewed by the superintendent
within the preceding twelve (12) month period
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which has for its purFose t~le teaching of the
theory, method, profession, or work of massage
technicians and which school requires a
resident course of study of not less than one
hundred fifty (150) hours. The term "Approved
Schoolll may, at the discretion of the Chief of
Police, also include a school or institution of
learning which is licensed and accredited by a
state other than the state of California, which
has for its purpose the teaching of the theory,
method, profession, or work of massage
technicians, and which requires a resident
course of study of not less than one hundred
fifty (150) hours. An applicant who attended
an out-of-state school shall submit a diploma
or certificate of completion, a certified
transcript, the name, address and telephone
number of the school, and a course description
and outline of the material covered in the
courses completed by the applicant. Any out-
of-state course of study submitted for approval
shall meet the state of California's Office of
Post Secondary Education's minimum
requirements.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Chief
of Police may determine that a particular
school does not qualify as an "Approved School"
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based upon substantial evidence that the school
issues diplomas or certificates of completion
fraudulently or otherwise fails to engage in
teaching the theory, method, profession, or
work of massage technicians.
(f) Such other information and
identification as deemed necessary by the Chief
of Police.
(g) Authorization for the City, its
agents and employees to seek verification of
the information contained in the application.
(h) A statement in writing by the
applicant that he or she certified under
penalty of perjury that all information
contained in the application is true and
correct.
Prior to the issuance of the massage
technician permit, the applicant must pass an
examination consisting of a written and a
nonwritten component6 The examination shall be
given by the Personnel Department quarterly and
at least every ninety (90) days, and shall be
updated or revised periodically by the Chief of
Police. The examination shall, in the judgment
of the Chief of Police, fairly determine the
ability of the applicant to perform massage,
and may include the following subjects:
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Anatomy, Physiology, Hygiene, Sanitation,
Massage Theory and Practice, Ethics of Massage
practice, First Aid, Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation, and this Chapter. The
nonwritten component of the examination shall
be prepared, given and graded by a licensed
health care professional or other person who
meets the requirementI'; set forth in section
6.104.170(b) and who has been licensed or
practiced for five (5) years. An applicant
who fails the examination may retake it;
however, an applicant who fails the examination
three times shall be ineligible to re-take the
examination for one (1) year thereafter. An
additional fee may be imposed by the City for
each re-examination.
SECTION 3. section 6.104.110 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code is amended to read as follows:
6.104.110 Massaqe Restrictions.
The requirements of this section apply to
every massage establishment in the City and to
every massage technician in the city as defined
in Section 6.104.010.
(a) No person shall give, or assist in
the giving, of any massage to any person under
the age of eighteen (18) years, unless the
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parent or guardian of such minor person has
consented thereto in writing.
(b) Each operator shall erect and
maintain, after obtaining the necessary
permits, a recognizable and readable sign that
will be posted adjacent to the main entrance
identifying the premise as a massage
establishment. The signs may not use any strobe
lights or other flashing lights to illuminate
the front of the business. Each operator shall
have posted, in a conspicuous location upon the
premises where the massage operation is to be
conducted, the operator's permit as issued by
the Chief of Police.
(c) Each operator shall provide in each
room where massages are given, sufficient
lighting and ventilation as required by the
Uniform Building Code.
(d) Every massage establishment shall
from time to time and at least once a year, be
inspected by the Department of Health for the
purpose of determining that the health
provisions of the laws of the state of
California and ordinances of the City of Santa
Monica and County of Los Angeles are met.
(e) A minimum of one tub or shower, and
one toilet and wash basin shall be provided for
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the patrons in every massage establishment. If
male and female patrons are to be served
simultaneously, and if steam rooms and saunas
are provided, separat~ steam rooms or saunas
shall be provided for male and female patrons.
Hot and cold running water under pressure shall
be provided to all wash basins, bathtubs,
showers, and similar equipment. Each wash basin
shall be provided with soap or detergent and
sanitary towels placed in permanently installed
dispensers. A trash receptacle shall be
provided in each toiletroom. In addition to the
wash basin provided for patrons, a minimum of
one separate wash basin shall be provided in
each massage establishment, which basin shall
provide soap or detergent and hot running water
at all times and shall be located within or as
practical to the area devoted to the performing
of massage services. In addition, there shall
be provided at each wash basin, sanitary towels
placed in permanently installed dispensers. If
the wash basin for patrons is not in the
toiletroom but it is adj acent thereto, this
wash basin shall meet the separate wash basin
requirement if it is reasonably close to the
area devoted to the performjng of massages.
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(f) No person shall operate a massage
establishment, or administer a massage as
herein defined in any massage establishment
between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
(g) No person licensed to do business as
herein provided shall operate under any name or
conduct business under any designation not
specified in his or her permit.
(h) No person shall enter, be, or remain
in any part of a massage establishment licensed
under this Chapter while in possession of,
consuming, using, or under the influence of any
alcoholic beverage or drug. The owner,
operator, and manager shall be responsible for
ensuring that no such person shall enter or
remain upon the licensed premises.
(i) No building or part thereof used as
a massage establishment shall be equipped with
any electronic, mechanical, or artificial
device used, or capable of being used for
recording or videotaping, for monitoring the
activities, conversation, or other sounds in
the treatment room or room used by the business
customers; nor shall any such equipment be used
to record, videotape or monitor a person
receiving a massage without that person's
written consent.
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(j) No massage establishment issued a
permit under this Chapter shall send massage
technicians off the premises for the purposes
of administering a massage, nor shall the
massage establishment or any part thereof be
used by any employee, operator, manager, or
owner to receive or accept such requests for
off-premise massages, except when such
off-premise massage is permitted by this
Chapter.
(k) Every massaqe teclmician working in
a massage establishment shall display his or
her permit in a conspicuous place within the
massage establishment so that the same may be
readily seen by persons entering the premises.
(1) No massage technician shall, while
performing any massaqe or associated task,
expose his or her genitals, buttocks, or, in
the case of a female, her breast (s) or make
intentional contact or occasional and
repetitive contact with the genitals or anus of
another person.
(m) All massage technicians and all other
persons working in massage establishments shall
wear clean outer garments. These garments must
be of a fully opaque material and provide
complete covering of the genitals, genital
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(n) Each establishment shall provide to
all patrons, clean, sanitary and opaque
coverings capable of covering the patrons'
specified anatomical areas, including the
genital area and buttocks and female breasts.
No common use of such coverings shall be
permitted and re-use is prohibited unless
coverings are adequately cleaned between uses.
(0) No massage technician, while
performing any massage or associated task,
shall be present in any room with another
person unless that person's genitals, genital
area, buttocks and female breasts are fully
covered.
(p) standard or portaule massage tables
with durable, washable plastic or other
waterproof material as covering shall be used
for massage. Foam pads more than four (4)
inches thick or with a width of more than four
(4) feet may not be used. Beds, mattresses, and
water beds may n~t be used in the
administration of a massage.
(q) Every person operating a massage
establishment and each person doing business as
a massage technician shall keep a record of the
dates and hour of each tre~tment or service,
name, address and birth date of the patron to
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dates and hour of each treatment or service,
name, address and birth date of the patron to
be verified by legal identification, name of
technician administering such service and
description of the treatment or service
rendered. These records shall be open to
inspection by the health off1cials charged with
the responsibility of preventing the spread of
communicable and contagious diseases and to
officials charged with the enforcement of the
provisions of this Code. The information
furnished or secured as a result of any such
records shall be used only to ensure and
enforce compliance with this Chapter and other
applicable laws and shall otherwise remain
confidential. Officials charged with
enforcement of this Chapter shall periodically
inspect said records to ensure compliance with
this section. The records required by this
Subsection shall be maintained for a period of
not less than one year.
(r) The holder of the permit must have in
his or her possession a photo identification
card prepared by the Police Department when
working pursuant to the permi t. The photo
identification card shall be promptly presented
to any peace officer upon request.
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(s) No person shall operate as an
off-premise massage technician or administer a
massage as herein defined between the hours of
10:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
(t) No person while conducting business
as an off-premise massage technician, shall be
in possession of, or under the influence of any
alcoholic beverage or drugs.
(u) No person holding an off-premise
massage technician permit shall conduct
massage, whether or not for compensation, at
any hotel, motel, or other commercial
establishment except in the office of the
customer. For purposes of this subsection, a
hotel room shall not be considered an office.
(v) No common use of towels or linens
shall be permitted and re-use is prohibited
unless they have been first laundered.
SECTION 4. section 6.104.170 of the Santa Monica Municipal
Code is amended to read as follows:
6.104.170. Exemption for other
professionals.
(a) Except as provided for in this
section, the provisions of Section 6.104.080
shall not be deemed applicable to any person
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who obtains an exemption certificate in
accordance with the provisions of this Section.
(b) In order to be eligible for an
exemption certificate, a person must either:
(1) Have been issued a Certificate
of Authorization for Service as an Instructor
in Massage pursuant to California Education
Code Section 94311(d) (3) ;
(2) Be a member of a professional
organization or association which the Chief of
Police determines meets each of the following
requirements:
A. The organization or
association requires that its members meet
minimum educational requirements. The
educational requirements must include at least
three hundred ( 300) classroom hours, or its
equivalent, in Anatomy, Physiology, Hygiene,
sanitation, Massage Theory and Practice, Ethics
of Massage practice, First Aid and CPR.
B. The organization or
association requires that a test be passed in
order to obtain membership. The test must be
conducted in a fair and impartial manner and
meet or exceed the testin-l requirements of
section 6.104.080.
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C. The organization or
association requires participation in
continuing education programs as a condition of
continuing membership.
D. The organization or
association has established rules of ethics and
has enforcement procedures for the suspension
and revocation of membership of persons
violating the rules of ethics; or
(3) Be licensed by another state to
perform massage as defined in Section
6.104.010, and the requirements for that
license must be determined to be comparable to
the requirements contained in this Subchapter
by the Chief of Police.
(c) In order to obtain an exemption
certificate, the person must file an
application for an exemption certificate in the
form required by the Chief of Police and pay
filing fees. If the application for exemption
is based upon the person having been issued the
necessary Certificate of Authorization or
Service as an instructor, the application for
exemption shall be approved or denied within
ten (10) days of the filing of the application.
If the application for exemption is based upon
membership in a qualified organization or
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association, or upon an out-of-state license,
the application for exemption shall be approved
or denied within ten (10) days of the filing of
the application if the Chief of Police has
previously determined that the organization or
association or the out-of-state license meets
the requirements of Subdivision (b) of this
Section, or within sixty (60) days if no such
determination has been made.
(d) A person exelllpted under this section
shall have on his or her person the exemption
certificate issued by the Chief of Police when
such person is engaged in any massage activity.
(e) At such times as the Chief of Police
deems appropriate, persons exempt under this
Section may be required to verify that he or
she continues to be entitled to an exemption
under this section.
(f) The exemption certificate shall be
deemed revoked and of no further force or
effect on the date on which the person's
Certificate of Authorization for Service as an
instructor in Massage pursuant to California
Education Code Section 94311(d) (3) or out-of-
state license has expired or been suspended or
revoked or the person is no longer a member in
good standing of the organization or
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association entitling the person to an
exemption under this sectior.
(g) No operator's permit shall be
required by this Chapter for a person who
employs only persons exempt under this section.
An operator's permit shall be required by any
person who employs both massage technicians
licensed under this Chapter and persons exempt
under this Section.
(h) An applicant or exemption certificate
holder shall have the right to appeal from a
decision of the Chief of Police under this
section in the time and in the manner set forth
in Chapter 6.20 et seq. of this Code.
( i) A person exempt under this section
shall not be required to obtain a police permit
pursuant to Section 6.20.040.
SECTION 5. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code
or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this
Ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, are
hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to affect the
provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION 6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or
phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or
unconsti tutional by a decision of any court of any competent
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jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The city Council hereby
declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and
every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared
invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion
of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
SECTION 7.
The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall
attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause
the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15
days after its adoption.
This Ordinance shall become effective
after 30 days from its adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
~cf0y
MARSHA JONES
City Attorney
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I
Mayor
State of CalIforma )
County of Los Angeles ) ss
CIty of Santa MOllIca )
I, Beth Sanchez, ASSIstant CIty Clerk of the CIty of Santa MOllica. do hereby certIfy that the
foregomg Ordmance No 1792 (CCS) had Its first readmg on February 28, 1995 and had Its
second readmg on March 21, 1995 and was passed by the followmg vote
Ayes Councllmembers
Genser, Greenberg. Ebner, Rosenstem, Abdo, O'Connor
Noes Councllmembers
None
Abstain Councllmembers
None
Absent. Councllmembers
Holbrook
ATTEST
CIty Clerk