Los Angeles, California- Bathhouses and sex clubs in Los Angeles County, including the City of Los Angeles, could be closed if they fail to meet tough new regulations according to a published report.
The Los Angeles Times reports that County supervisors approved the new rules on Tuesday.
The law will require the baths and clubs to post signs notifying customers that unsafe sex is not permitted on the premises, provide free condoms and lube, information on safe sex practices, and must offer on-site testing and counseling for HIV and other STDs.
They also are obligated to refuse admittance to anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In addition the venues will be required to pay an annual "commercial sex venue" license of $1,088 each, the Times reports.
The law will go into effect in February when club owners can apply for licenses.
"This is a place where we have some opportunity to reach people and make sure they get appropriate education, get condoms and testing," John Schunhoff, the county's chief of operations for public health told the Times.
The new requirements have angered some operators.
Scott Campbell, president of the Midtowne Spa which has three Los Angeles bathhouses, said the law is discriminatory. Campbell told the Times that people are increasingly finding sexual partners in bars and through websites.
"Bathhouses are an easy target," told the paper. "Our customers tend to be people ... who are closeted and they're not going to stand up and protest."
Campbell said his bathhouses have been offering HIV testing since 1996 and hand out about 500,000 condoms per year.
The county has been considering the new regulations for a year, after a federally funded study of two Los Angeles bathhouses in 2001 and 2002 that found 11 percent of the patrons tested positive for HIV - double the rate for gay men nationwide and nearly seven times that of the general public.
