Editorial: Striking the right balance on regulation

Friday, Jan. 30, 1998 | 10:41 a.m.

GOVERNMENT, by necessity, must walk a tightrope when it regulates the private sector. It must make sure businesses are allowed to operate as freely as possible so they can prosper. At the same time, government must also make sure this freedom is coupled with -- when necessary -- regulations that protect the public.

So the Clark County Business License Department, which is asking the County Commission to amend an ordinance regulating massage therapists, is understandably having a tough time as the SUN's Jeff Schweers has been reporting. The Business License Department wants new regulations to make it more difficult for prostitutes to sneak into the industry, which in turn hurts its reputation. But some massage therapists believe the county's original draft goes too far, making it tough for them to earn a living.

Despite an initial divide in opinion, progress has been made on major issues that have split both sides. The Business License Department has agreed to drop its original plan prohibiting table lamps and portable lamps; the Business License Department also agreed to drop a requirement, added in June 1996, that mandated therapists be affiliated with a physician, chiropractor or osteopath. For their part, massage therapists agreed to language that bans opaque or see-through clothing. For those who think the massage therapists wanted no government regulation at all, it was they who asked for -- and the Business License Department agreed -- a requirement that all massage therapists be fully licensed and have 500 hours of training.

Possibly the two toughest issues not resolved is Business License's proposal to ban cross-gender massage by therapists who come to your home, and whether Metro Police can be allowed to search a massage therapist's records without a subpoena. The County Commission should be vigilant when regulating massage therapists, especially since there are prostitutes who would use a massage therapist license as a ruse to escape police scrutiny. However, reasonable accommodations need to be made, allowing legitimate massage therapists to earn a living just like anyone else. It sounds as if both sides are making progress and are willing to work out a compromise that also protects the public.