In an attempt to address illicit massage parlors in Denver, the City Council is considering requiring licenses for massage businesses. The council’s safety committee approved the proposal Wednesday, moving it to the full council.

Illicit massage businesses are businesses that provide sexual services while disguised as legitimate massage parlors. Senior Deputy District Attorney Lara Mullin said these businesses are often staffed by sex trafficking victims who were brought the U.S. under promises of different work.

“We’ve encountered workers inside of these businesses who are being forced or coerced to provide sexual services,” Mullin said. “We’ve also seen buyers who are going to these businesses to get a massage and are then provided sexual services and report it as a sexual assault.”

Mullin said sex traffickers hide behind illicit massage businesses and loopholes to exploit the workers. The workers are often foreign-born women who are forced to work illegal hours and often live inside the businesses in substandard conditions with building, fire code and public health violations.

This is a common practice in Denver and around the country, according to the district attorney’s office. In the U.S., there are an estimated 9,000 illicit massage businesses that generate approximately $2.5 billion in annual revenue.

“The current tools that we have in place are simply inadequate to hold accountable those who are exploiting the workers inside of these businesses,” Mullin said.

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If the proposal is approved, massage businesses would need to apply for specific business licenses. The applications would require the owners to pass a criminal background check, provide contact information, disclose any previous licensure disciplinary action and provide proof of possession of the business location.

License applications could be denied for a number of reasons, including if the owner has been convicted of a felony (or released from prison because of a felony conviction) within the last five years or if the owner has ever been convicted of a sex crime.

In addition to preventing certain felons from operating these businesses, the licenses would also create more transparency regarding business ownership to help hold the owners accountable when businesses are found to be illicit.

Division Chief Joseph Montoya with the Denver Police Department called the license plan a “victim-centered” approach to addressing illicit massage businesses, protecting the workers from being victimized and exploited instead of punishing them.

“Our usual response was to go in some sort of undercover operation, and generally that resulted in charges against the workers for prostitution,” Montoya said. “Our only recourse against the business was through the nuisance abatement program and we had about a 25% success rate in taking any through that process.”

If a massage business is issued a license, it would have to adhere to regular record keeping requirements with the city, including providing a valid copy of massage therapist licenses, contact information, dates of birth and employment start and end dates for all employees and contractors.

Under the proposal, it would also be illegal for anyone who owns or works for a licensed massage business to perform sexual acts in the business, live within the business or operate between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Businesses that are exempt and do not need this license are accredited massage schools, government-owned facilities, athletic training rooms, health care offices and clinics, barber shops, beauty salons, events with temporary massage services and solo practitioner massage therapists.

Any of these exempt businesses may be required to apply for a license if found to be engaging in a pattern of criminal conduct.

The council safety committee unanimously approved the proposal, with some members expressing that they wished it had happened sooner.

“It’s been a two-year slog to get this done, which has been a bit frustrating,” Councilman Paul Kashmann said. “I understand the complexities of moving something like this forward … I would’ve hoped, because of the seriousness of the matter, that we could’ve done it sooner.”

If approved, the license applications would come with a one-time, non-refundable $500 fee to cover the processing costs. Licensed businesses would have to pay an annual $250 licensing fee to renew the license.

The proposal will now have to pass two full council votes before being implemented.