Montgomery County police issued 40 citations to 25 spas and charged 13 owners with felony offenses between June 2024 and February 2026, but some of those same operators keep reopening under new business names. A bill introduced Tuesday, July 21 aims to shut that door.
Bill 34-26, led by Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-District 7), would bar the county from issuing a bodywork establishment license to anyone whose corporate officer or manager has been convicted of human trafficking or prostitution-related offenses, or who previously ran a spa whose license was revoked. A public hearing is set for Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m.
"Some of the same individuals who end up getting cited and they shut down that particular business, they just pop up as a new LLC, but it's the same people in a different part of the county and apply for another license and the cycle starts over again," Luedtke told the council July 21, according to Bethesda Magazine.
All 10 members signed on.
The original co-sponsors were Council President Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) and Councilmembers Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) and Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3). Vice President Marilyn Balcombe and the remaining five members asked to be added at introduction, giving the bill unanimous support on the council.
What the bill changes
Montgomery County first created a licensing system for bodywork establishments in 2015 after spas emerged as fronts for human trafficking. Under current law, an individual tied to a cited or shuttered spa faces little impediment to opening a new one.
Bill 34-26 would fix that by requiring all license applicants to disclose every corporate officer and business manager. The bill defines that term broadly: any owner, shareholder, member, partner, director or general manager who has or can reasonably be expected to have control of the establishment's operations, according to the bill text. If anyone on that list has a trafficking or prostitution conviction, the application would be denied.
The legislation was developed in consultation with county police and the Human Trafficking Prevention Committee, WTOP reported. Sgt. Melissa Maines of the MCPD Vice and Intelligence Unit said in a statement that the bill would help prevent repeat offenders from reopening illegal operations in the county.
County campaign tracks cited spas
The bill arrives alongside the county's Look Before You Book campaign, which launched in early 2026 and has drawn 2,784 website views, according to Montgomery Community Media. The campaign's website features an interactive map showing bodywork establishments with public citations, letting residents check a spa's record before booking.
The county's tip line connected to the campaign has received one formal tip and five other resident communications, according to Jodi Finkelstein, coordinator of the Human Trafficking Prevention Committee.
Red flags the campaign identifies include cash-only policies with no receipts, appointment times outside the county's mandated 8 a.m.–9 p.m. window, locked doors or buzzer entry, heavily tinted windows and visible living quarters on the premises.
Kevin Hu, owner of Spa65 Thai Massage & Bodywork, a fully licensed business with no citations, supports targeting illegal operators but says the compliance burden on legitimate owners is steep. He suggested the county create verification badges and a county-run directory so licensed shops can stand out from illegal competitors who undercut prices.
How to weigh in
The public hearing on Bill 34-26 is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m. at the Montgomery County Council. Residents can sign up to testify through the council's website. The bill expires under council rules on Dec. 7 if not acted upon.
