Dem-backed bill to punish illicit massage spas in Nassau still under review, Presiding Officer Howard Kopel says

After Nassau Democrats introduced a bill to penalize illicit massage spas last month, the county legislature's Republican majority leader did not schedule it for a vote on Monday.

The bill, which would be the harshest regulation of illicit massage spas in New York, would slap offending businesses with fines of up to $25,000 and ensure they're properly licensed. Legis. Viviana Russell (D-Westbury) drafted the bill following Newsday’s investigative series "Sex Next Door" that revealed hundreds of illicit massage spas across Long Island reopen mere hours after police raid them.

Kopel did not include the bill on the agenda for the Public Safety Committee meeting on Monday. 

"It’s absurd," Russell told Newsday. "Whether a bill is introduced by the minority or the majority, if it makes sense for Nassau County, it should be discussed. ... We’re looking to ensure that Nassau County is safe, and that is not a political issue. It’s law and order."

The Nassau Legislature  has a Republican majority, with 11 members versus  eight Democrats. The legislature’s presiding officer, Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence), decides which bills get on the agenda for a vote. In a statement to Newsday on Monday, he said it was a matter of due diligence, not delay.

"We have identified several issues that we are working to better understand, including the type and number of businesses that could be impacted by the proposed law," he wrote. "There are additional questions we are continuing to assess, and, as is customary, we want the benefit of a thorough analysis from the County Attorney, Department of Consumer Affairs and Police Department before moving forward. Our goal is to make sure we fully understand the potential impact and get the legislation right."

Mary Studdert, a spokeswoman for the Republican majority, said Republicans were looking into how the bill could impact other businesses that offer massages, like nail salons. Asked whether Kopel planned to bring the bill for a vote in October, she said legislators were "working on it."

Russell said she requested a meeting with Republicans about the bill, and they had not involved her in the review process.

No bills introduced by Democrats have been brought to a vote since Kopel and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman took office, except for a road renaming bill and a bill to ban kratom, which was co-sponsored by Republicans, according to Democratic spokesman Mike Fricchione.

A spokesman for Blakeman declined to comment on the bill’s status. 

Russell’s bill would be the first of its kind in New York as far as heavy fines on illicit spa businesses go. The proposal seeks to amend an existing Nassau law, introduced by Republicans and prompted by a separate Newsday investigation, that combats sex trafficking in hotels and motels. It would increase penalties ranging from $500 to $5,000, to as much as $25,000 for repeat offenders.

"Before, it was almost like ‘the cost of doing business,’" Russell previously told Newsday. "The fines weren’t enough to make them stop. It was like, ‘OK, I can afford to pay a $500 fine.’"

Russell's goal, in part, was to target human trafficking at massage spas. Nassau's primary enforcement tool is arresting hundreds of women working at spas, who prosecutors and advocates say are victims, while letting their male customers walk free, Newsday has reported.

Long Island towns have nuisance codes to fine property owners who allow prostitution on their premises. But neither Nassau nor Suffolk has enforced such hefty fines on spa businesses.