Green Bay creates massage business license to help punish illicit spas - Green Bay Press Gazette

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GREEN BAY - Massage therapy businesses will have to get a license to operate in Green Bay under regulations backers say will help the city crack down on illicit businesses.


The Green Bay City Council on Tuesday approved new rules massage establishments must follow to operate in the city. The measure passed 11-1.

Advocates on the council have worked on the package of rules and potential penalties since 2015 as they sought a way to punish or shut down illicit spas and massage parlors where workers exchange sex for money.

"There are illegitimate spas popping up across our city," Alderperson Melinda Eck said. "They're a very real blight on our city."


Eck noted the rules and regulations had been vetted by city and outside attorneys and public safety leaders, aligned with recommendations provided by the American Massage Therapy Association, and modified to address concerns massage therapists raised as the proposal moved toward approval. Several council members said they'd received complaints about several Military Avenue businesses rumored to be places where prostitution occurs. Others believe human trafficking has occurred in the city.


Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis said prostitution stings can be extremely difficult to bring against the illicit businesses that facilitate prostitution. Under current laws, police can do little more than issue citations and fines if a business doesn't employ licensed massage therapists, City Attorney Joanne Bungert said.


"They can ticket and ticket and ticket and nothing gives us ability to take it to next level with a business hurting our community or individuals," Bungert said. She added the new license enables the city to ensure massage businesses operate safely and pursue stiffer penalties against ones that do not.

The new rules require any business where massage therapy occurs to get a license, pay a $75 fee annually, display their license on the premises, close from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., limit business signage and have city staff inspect the business space. Alcohol cannot be served and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian or have their written permission. Owners must pass a background check and keep records of all licensed massage therapists working in the space.


A Council motion to cut the license fee to zero failed.

Violations of the regulations would give the city grounds to revoke, suspend or not renew a company's massage establishment license. Business owners can request a hearing to contest the charges before the City Council. Enforcement is largely expected to be complaint-based.


An illicit business that offers unlicensed massage services might still try to operate without the massage establishment license, but Bungert said the new rules give the city grounds to pursue legal action to shut down those businesses.

Massage therapists are licensed by the state. An individual massage therapist does not have to get a massage establishment license unless they operate a brick-and-mortar location.

Several licensed massage therapists still raised concerns about the language included in the ordinance, saying it puts an undue burden on the licensed, certified, law-abiding health care providers in order to punish the illicit massage parlors that generate complaints.


Mary Poulter, a licensed massage therapist for 11 years, called the rules restrictive and worried legitimate businesses could get punished for inadvertent violations, like if a client brought her a bottle of wine as a gift.

"We're all against human trafficking. We’re all against illicit establishments," Poulter said. "We have a license from the state we have to maintain. We try to proceed as ethically as we can and want to be in compliance with the rules of the city of Green Bay. We just ask that you listen to us when you establish those rules."


Alderperson Jim Hutchison cast the lone vote against the massage establishment ordinance, calling it well-intentioned but "extremely burdensome" on massage therapists.

"It’s too restrictive. It could be a lot better," Hutchison said. "We really want to get the bad actors off the street, but in the process we lost sight of the good actors."


The new rules take effect on Feb. 1, 2024, and licenses must be renewed by April 30 each year. Licenses approved prior to May 1, 2024, will be valid through April 30, 2025.


Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.


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