Danbury officials are looking to create a law to regulate operations of massage and spa therapy facilities.  An ad hoc committee was formed last week to look into policing power to protect the health and safety of patrons and employees through licensing requirements. 

This comes as the state Labor Department cracked down on dozens of nail salons in other parts of Connecticut for labor abuses, and the owner of the Patriots was caught up in a massage parlor scandal involving human trafficking. 

A proposed ordinance under review in Danbury would go after the owners by giving police and the health department regulatory authority to close a business if it offers massage services as a subterfuge for prostitution and other paid sexual contact. A proposed annual license would require businesses to undergo criminal background checks.