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82 DAYSPA | JULY 2014 LEGAL PAD Municipal Kneads If you don't believe all politics are local, then this recent tale about a statewide effort to protect the massage industry might make you reconsider. By Michael L. Antoline, J.D. For many years, this column has excoriated cen- tralized state regulatory agencies that have persis- tently attempted to limit the procedures spa pro- fessionals can perform. Among these procedures: microdermabrasion, Brazilian waxing, craniosacral massage and even teeth whitening (see last month's column, "Armed to the Teeth"). These centralized agencies are usually controlled or lobbied heavily by competing professions. The primary motivation for such regulations is anti-competitive, and appears to be aimed at securing a bigger piece of the money pie for the targeted professions, rather than promoting public safety as purported. We can now move on to discuss centralized regula- tory agencies that are controlled by spa professionals themselves, and are designed to set reasonable stan- dards for training, continuing education and perfor- mance. This is the story of one such agency that tried to strike a blow for consistent, quality standards for the massage industry in the State of California. THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY The California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) is a nonprofi t, public benefi t corporation that was created by the California State Legislature in 2009. These are the good guys, the white hats, the regulatory agencies that serve the valuable function of raising the quality and professionalism of the spa industry as a whole. The CAMTC's mission: to "protect the public by cer- tifying qualifi ed massage professionals in California." But even the best intentions can go awry. Please allow this battle-hardened, cynical lawyer to explain. Despite all of the progress made in this arena over the past 20 years, we have a problem in California with massage therapy acting as a front for prostitu- tion. Such illegitimate massage therapy establishments can be divided into two broad categories: the Bads and the Uglies. The Bads are stable prostitution operations that have regular, voluntary "employees." The Uglies are fronts for human traffi cking, including forced pros- titution and debt bondage enforced by threatened ©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM L e g a l P a d . i n d d 8 2 Legal Pad.indd 82 6 / 3 / 1 4 1 1 : 4 7 A M 6/3/14 11:47 AM