§45-13-41. License requirements; operation of massage parlor; unlawful activities; violations.

(a) The provisions of this section shall apply to all counties having a population of not less than 26,000 nor more than 26,800 inhabitants according to the 1970 or any subsequent federal decennial census.

(b) The following words and terms as used in this section shall, unless the context requires a different meaning, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

(1) The term "massage parlor" shall mean any establishment, building, room, or place other than a regularly licensed hospital, medical clinic, nursing home, or dispensary, the offices of a physician, a surgeon, or an osteopath, where non-medical, non-surgical, non-osteopathic, and non-chiropractic manipulative exercises, massages, or procedures are practiced upon the human body, or any part thereof, for other than cosmetic or beautifying purposes, with or without the use of mechanical or other devices, by anyone not a physician, surgeon, osteopath, or chiropractor or of a similarly registered status, and shall include any place where baths, exercises, or similar services are offered

(2) The term "masseur (male) and masseuse (female)" is a person who practices any one or more of the arts of body massage, either by hand or mechanical apparatus, oil rubs, corrective gymnastics, mechanotherapy, including color therapy, dietetics, hot packs, cabinet, tub, shower, sitz, vapor, steam, or any other special type of bath.

(3) The word "establishment" shall mean a place of business or operation of any kind.

(4) The word "person" shall include a firm, partnership, association of persons, corporation, organization, or any other group acting as a unit.

(c) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a massage parlor as herein defined without first having acquired from the county governing body a license for the operation of the business as required by this section.

(d) Any massage parlor licensed by the county governing body shall at all times comply with all health regulations, rules, and requirements as shall now or hereafter be promulgated by the State Board of Health, and any premises used for the purposes of a massage parlor shall, during all hours of operation, be made open and available to inspection by duly authorized county officials for the purpose of assuring compliance with said health rules, regulations, and requirements. Each massage parlor shall be equipped with toilet and lavatory facilities for patrons and separate readily available toilet and lavatory facilities for employees, and each operating area shall be equipped with a hand lavatory.

(e)(1) No towels, wash cloths, or other linen items shall come in contact with the body or any other part thereof of any customer or patron at a massage parlor that has not been boiled and laundered since last used.

(2) Every person applying or administering massages shall cleanse his or her hands thoroughly by washing same with soap and hot water before attending or massaging any person.

(3) Any person while applying or administering massages shall be clothed from the shoulders to the knees by a robe, smock, or other opaque apparel so that the patron or customer shall be protected from bodily contact with the person applying or administering the massage except for the hands and arms of the person applying or administering the massage.

(4) Any massage parlor licensed pursuant to this section shall be equipped with running hot and cold water, and with all appliances, furnishings, and materials as may be necessary to enable persons employed in and about the massage parlor to comply with the provisions of this section.

(f) No massage parlor shall be used as and for a dormitory or place of sleep, nor shall any licensee under this section permit any massage parlor to be so used.

(g) No massage shall be administered or applied by any licensee hereunder or any employee, operator, or attendant while working for such licensee, except in or upon the premises or regular place of business of the licensee where the license is regularly displayed and at the place and location designated for the operation of the massage parlor in the license.

(h) No masseur, masseuse, or other employee or attendant in any massage parlor shall apply or administer any massage or other treatment to any person behind locked doors.

(i) Subsequent to July 3, 1979, it shall be unlawful for any masseur, masseuse, or other employee or attendant to administer massages in any massage parlor within the county without first, and within six months from the date thereof, having secured a written verification from a licensed Alabama physician that the person or employee is free of any contagious, infectious, or communicable disease, and the masseur, masseuse, or other employee or attendant of any massage parlor shall, at all times while on duty or working in any such massage parlor, have upon his or her person, the written medical verification.

(j) It shall be unlawful for any person to render any service to the public upon the premises of a massage parlor within the county except during the time that the establishment is open with free access thereto by the public, during which time all portions of such establishment shall be open to the inspection of any county official and to any law enforcement officer of the state, or of the jurisdiction where the establishment is located.

(k)(1) It shall be unlawful for the owner, manager, or supervisor of a massage parlor within the county to allow, authorize, or tolerate in his or her establishment any activity or behavior prohibited by the laws of the State of Alabama including such laws proscribing acts of prostitution, sodomy, adultery, fornication, or any lewd or obscene act or performance.

(2) Any final conviction of any owner, manager, or supervisor of any massage parlor of a violation of the foregoing mentioned acts occurring on or in connection with the establishment shall automatically terminate the license of the establishment and the county governing body shall so notify the holder thereof, and no new license for the operation of a massage parlor on the same premises thereafter shall be issued by the county governing body for a period of one year.

(l) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a massage parlor, regardless of whether it is a public or private facility, or any bath parlor, or any similar type business within the county, where any physical contact with the recipient of such service is provided by a person of the opposite sex. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500) or 12 months in jail, one or both; and in addition, final conviction of any owner, manager, or person in charge of premises upon which a massage parlor is operated shall automatically terminate the license of the establishment and the county governing body shall so notify the holder thereof, and no new license for the operation of a massage parlor on the same premises shall thereafter be issued by the county governing body for a period of one year.

(m) It shall be unlawful for any masseur, masseuse, attendant, or person employed in a massage parlor within the county to massage or in any way touch the genital organs of another in connection with any massage or other service rendered by the establishment. It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise or offer any massage or physical touching of the genital organs of another in connection with such a massage.

(n) Any license issued hereunder by the county governing body upon the violation of any subsection, requirement, or provision of this section by the licensee or any agent, attendant, or other employee of the licensee, provided the licensee shall first be notified of the violation and be afforded a hearing before the county governing body. Written notice of any violation hereunder and any hearing thereon before the county governing body may be given to licensees by delivering the notice by hand to licensee, or in his or her absence to any adult person employed by licensee at the licensed premises or the deposit of the notice postage prepaid with the United States Postal Service and addressed to licensee at the licensed premises, not less than 10 days prior to such hearing before the county governing body and the licensee may present such evidence as he or she shall wish to the governing body. In the event of any revocation of a license for the operation of a massage parlor in accordance with this subsection the licensee shall not be entitled to the issuance of a subsequent license for the operation of a massage parlor in the county within 12 months following the date of the revocation.

(o) Any person who shall violate any provision of this section for which a penalty is not otherwise provided, or who shall do any act made unlawful by this section for which a penalty is not otherwise provided, shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor as defined in Title 13A.

(Act 79-300, p. 451, §§ 1-15.)