Montgomery County's spa licensing system has a gap: operators convicted of human trafficking or prostitution can shut down one business and reopen another under a different LLC. A bill introduced Tuesday at the County Council aims to close it.

Bill 34-26, sponsored by Councilmember Dawn Luedtke, would require every bodywork establishment applying for a county license to disclose all corporate officers, shareholders, partners and managers. The Department of Health and Human Services would be barred from issuing a license if any listed individual has been convicted of trafficking or prostitution-related crimes, or previously ran a spa whose license was revoked.

The measure is countywide, meaning it would apply to any licensed massage or bodywork business operating in Potomac, Travilah, or Darnestown.

The enforcement numbers underscore why. Between June 2024 and February 2026, the county's Vice Unit conducted 44 inspections of spas, issued 40 civil citations to 25 of the county's 46 licensed bodywork establishments and charged 13 spa owners with felony offenses for aiding and abetting illegal massage operations, according to a county press release.

One landlord terminated a commercial lease after enforcement action, and the Department of Health cited two additional businesses for illegal operations during the licensing process.

"A troubling gap remains in which individuals associated with bodyworks establishments that have engaged in human trafficking or related criminal activity are still able to open new establishments under different business entities or LLCs, allowing the cycle of exploitation to continue," Luedtke wrote in a July 13 letter to fellow councilmembers introducing the legislation.

Luedtke, a former assistant attorney general who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee, developed the bill in consultation with the Montgomery County Police Department and the county's Human Trafficking Prevention Commission, according to the legislative staff memo from Thursday.

In an interview with Montgomery Community Media, Sgt. Melissa Maines of the MCPD Vice and Intelligence Unit said investigators have found several massage and bodywork businesses hiding trafficking operations, and that owners tied to illegal activity often reopen at new locations after enforcement.

The bill defines "corporate officer or business manager" broadly to capture anyone with control or knowledge of operations, regardless of title. Applicants would also be required to update their disclosure if ownership changes after licensing.

Council President Natali Fani-González and Councilmembers Kate Stewart and Sidney Katz are co-sponsoring the measure.

A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, at 1:30 p.m. Residents who want to testify or submit written comments can monitor the bill's status on the Montgomery County Council website. Those who suspect illegal spa activity can report it anonymously through the MCPD tip line at 240-773-TIPS (8477).