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Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio House Bill 978 establishes state licensing and regulation for massage businesses, mandates criminal records checks, and creates illicit massage task force
Last action · July 16, 2026: IntroducedSponsor: Brian Lorenz
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What This Bill Would Do
Ohio House Bill 978 requires all massage businesses to obtain a license from the Director of Health, conduct s for owners and employees, and implement specific operating rules such as using s for payments. The bill creates an illicit massage task force within the Attorney General's office, establishes the local notification of human trafficking database, and enacts penalties including third-degree felony charges for operating without a license or money laundering through massage operations.
Massage business owners must pay for mandatory biennial background checks, adopt electronic payment systems, and comply with new employee reporting rules or face felony or misdemeanor charges, while property owners leasing to businesses engaging in prostitution face civil penalties and loss of property tax exemptions.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Massage business owners
Massage business owners must obtain a state license, submit to annual inspections, conduct biennial criminal records checks for themselves and employees, use financial transaction devices for all payments, and report payroll to the Attorney General.
Massage therapists and employees
Employees must submit fingerprint impressions for criminal records checks, cannot be classified as independent contractors, and must provide proof of licensure if performing massage therapy.
Commercial property owners and landlords
Property owners face civil penalties and the loss of property tax exemptions if their tenants operate illicit massage businesses or engage in prostitution on the premises with the owner's knowledge.
Office of the Attorney General
The Attorney General's office is tasked with creating the illicit massage task force, adopting implementation rules, administering the victims of human trafficking fund, and receiving payroll and employee cross-reference reports.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is required to obtain a license under House Bill 978?
What payment methods are permitted for massage services under the bill?
What happens if a massage business is found employing unlicensed individuals?
Are property owners penalized if a tenant uses a building for prostitution?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently filed. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Committee.
Procedural history
1 action- Jul 16, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Comprehensive State-Level Regulation of Massage Businesses
The bill shifts oversight of massage businesses from purely local township options to a mandatory state-level licensing and criminal background check regime managed by the Director of Health and the Attorney General.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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