Dayspa

JUL 2014

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dayspamagazine.com | JULY 2014 87 the legislation. On the other hand, if a legislator sits in the state capital or perhaps in Washington D.C., he may never see the people whom his leg- islation affects. The lobbyist's dollars have a much greater impact when the lawmaker doesn't have to look at the people his legislation has harmed. Thus the advantage of local control. I am personally a strong believer in the prevailing wisdom that exists on the local level. People who live around the ne'er-do-wells fi gure them out fairly quickly. This is espe- cially true of the local police force—I represent several local police forces, and I can tell you fi rsthand that there is no one better than an expe- rienced police offi cer in spotting the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate businesses on his beat. So unfortunately and despite all good intentions, the removal of lo- cal control in this particular situa- tion made the problem of regulat- ing massage establishments virtually impossible. It's very hard to see the 420 miles from the California State capital of Sacramento to Hunting- ton Beach. And regulations created in Sacramento have very little effect when applied 6½ hours to the south. In 2013, there were 10 arrests made related to sexually illicit mas- sages performed at 10 of the ap- proximately 75 massage "parlors" dotting the 32-square-mile city of Huntington Beach. Let's suppose— and I think it's a pretty good bet— there are still many more doing busi- ness in the area. If you are one of this city's 200,000-plus legitimate, potential massage consumers, and you live in a community that is beset with massage prostitution, might you hesitate to patronize even a le- gitimate massage establishment, for fear of being seen by your friends and neighbors? In this instance, public perception hurts the business of legitimate massage therapists in that community. Fortunately, this story has a positive ending. The California Legislature has seen the errors of its ways and a bill is now being introduced that would return some control to local govern- ments to regulate the hours of op- eration and training of employees in massage establishments. The lesson here is simple: When legislating, try not to swing too far toward centralized control or too far toward local control. Both have their place. But as far as enforcement is concerned, there's no substitute for boots on the ground. Michael L. Antoline, J.D. is a legal affairs writer and Champaign, Illinois- based attorney. Information in this column is general. Seek legal counsel for specifi c cases. dayspamagazine.com/freeinfo • Use FreeInfo #50 L e g a l P a d . i n d d 8 7 Legal Pad.indd 87 6 / 3 / 1 4 1 1 : 4 8 A M 6/3/14 11:48 AM

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