Bill Fighting Sex Trafficking Passes Committee

(Colorado State Capitol, April 2, 2024) -- Today, Representative Anthony Hartsook’s (R-Parker) bill, HB24-1371, aimed to curb human trafficking, passed in the Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee.

“This bill will establish a mandatory national fingerprint background check of all employees and owners for these types of facilities,” said Rep. Hartsook. “It will deter bad actors from trying to move to Colorado and establish illicit massage facilities. It will also require existing employees and owners that do not have a national background check to undergo a background check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This will help address human trafficking, which is a problem in Colorado,” Hartsook added. “While most of these businesses are legitimate, this legislation will act as a safeguard to ensure they are not used as a vehicle for human trafficking,” Hartsook concluded.

Over the last few years, Colorado has seen numerous arrests related to human trafficking at massage parlors, including in Denver in 2022 and in Jefferson County in 2023.

If enacted, this bill would require counties, municipalities, and local governments to establish a local licensing process that includes submitting a national background check through their local law enforcement by July 1, 2025. Additional licensing criteria will continue to be optional for local governments.

Individual counties currently have discretionary power to license massage therapy establishments since the passage of HB22-1300 in 2022. Despite its provisions for background checks and specified disqualifying offenses, this legislation has proven ineffective. Lacking a statewide policy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is unable to conduct national background checks.

The bill will also prohibit individuals with convictions or accepted pleas related to human trafficking, drug trafficking, or money laundering from owning or working as employees in such facilities. Furthermore, it empowers the local licensing authority to suspend or revoke the license of any massage facility found to have an ineligible owner or employee under the provisions of the bill. We want to ensure that professional and legal facilities and employees are here in Colorado.