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Louisville council panel backs looser rules for massage businesses
A Metro Council committee approved proposed changes that would make security cameras optional at most massage facilities and ease other restrictions on licensed businesses. The measure is scheduled for a vote by the full council next Thursday.
A Louisville Metro Council committee approved proposed changes Wednesday to the city’s rules for massage businesses, seeking to reduce burdens on legitimate providers while maintaining tools to address human trafficking and illicit operations.
The amendments, approved by the Public Safety Committee, would repeal the requirement that massage facilities use video cameras, making them optional for most establishments. They would also allow licensed facilities to offer items such as champagne during treatments and ease restrictions affecting individual massage providers.
Councilman Jeff Hudson, a co-sponsor, said the changes followed discussions with massage professionals and other stakeholders. He said the effort was intended to address business restrictions as well as customer privacy concerns, while preserving the city’s ability to respond to trafficking.
Hudson said a task force with more than 40 participants helped shape the proposal. He said taking time to hear from different stakeholders was preferable to moving quickly and getting the balance wrong.
The full Metro Council is scheduled to consider the measure next Thursday. The committee’s approval advances the proposal but does not put the changes into effect; council members must still approve it.