Law would penalize Nevada businesses friendly to prostitution
CARSON CITY — Hotels and motels could lose their business licenses if they ignore frequent prostitution on their premises, under a bill heard Thursday in the Assembly Government Affairs Committee.
Assembly Bill 217 would empower cities and counties to revoke the business licenses of hotels and motels where prostitution has repeatedly occurred and the owners or managers know, or should have known, about and failed to take action.
Assemblyman John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, is sponsoring the bill, saying it’s needed to combat human trafficking and the illegal exploitation of women so communities will “not have to worry about the scourge of human trafficking.”
Hambrick said the bill is not intended to harm businesses that honestly do not know about crimes on their property. Instead, it targets businesses that turn a blind eye to obvious signs of prostitution, like a person renting the same motel room for short periods multiple times a day.
“I’m talking about the individuals that are wearing revealing clothing and advertising certain wares,” Hambrick told the committee, which didn’t take immediate action Thursday. “I will not go beyond that. You all know what I mean.”
Chuck Callaway, a lobbyist with the Metropolitan Police Department, offered more insight.
For example, an establishment that rents rooms out by the hour and offers condoms in a bowl at the front entrance should know what’s up when a couple checks in, he said.
In Las Vegas, some businesses can go to extreme measures to be friendly toward prostitution, which is illegal in most of Nevada. Callaway said one business he encountered catered to prostitution by having the manager use a buzzer to warn guests that police had arrived.
“They could either grab their clothes and run or quit whatever illegal activity they were doing,” Callaway said.
RESPONSE TO THE BILL
Melissa Holland, executive director of Awaken, a Reno-based nonprofit that fights human trafficking and advocates for victims, praised the bill, saying it will help the state’s image. She said simple online searches of hotel reviews show if an establishment is friendly toward prostitutes and pimps.
Jason Guinasso, an attorney for Awaken, said the bill provides due process to businesses, with a notice and opportunity for a hearing to make their case before municipal business licensing officials make a final decision.
Hambrick was agreeable with an amendment proposed by Clark County that gives city and county business licensing boards more discretion to shutter businesses on a case-by-case basis, or offer other sanctions short of closure.
Bryan Wachter, a lobbyist with the Retail Association of Nevada, praised the proposal’s intent, said it is too vague about who is held responsible and the standards used to determine how a business should have known about the crime.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.