Kansas Strip Club Bill May Stall in Committee

TOPEKA, Kan.—Despite last ditch efforts by conservative members of the House to push through a law that would impose oppressive restrictions on adult entertainment businesses in the state, a procedural motion used today by the Senate president will probably kill the bill for the 2011 session. “Sen. Steve Morris, the Hugoton Republican, declared the House-passed rewrite of a Senate bill ‘materially altered’ from the original form,” reported the Capital-Journal. “The designation permitted the bill to be assigned to a Senate committee, where it could collect dust in waning days of the 2011 session.” Basically, said the paper, Morris and other members of the Senate leadership were lukewarm to regulating the affairs of cities and counties to the extent sought by socially conservative members of the House. The maneuver was not totally unexpected. As reported by AVN in early April, “Rep. Amanda Grosserode (R-Lenexa), arguing that it was unlikely the Senate would pass the stricter version, tried to delete from the bill all but the 1,000-foot restriction on new adult business.” In addition to trying to fashion a bill that would make it through the Senate, Grosserode said a more flexible bill “would help small Kansas communities fight off developers interested in placing topless clubs in those cities.” In the end, her colleagues did not agree, and rebuffed her attempt in favor of the full package of business-killing regulations. “I think there is a bigger picture," said Rep. Steve Huebert (R-Valley Center). The House version would impose the following restrictions: * New adult-based businesses couldn’t locate within 1,000 feet of a school, library, day care center or church. * Existing clubs could no longer offer nude dance performances. * Entertainers would stay 6 feet from clients and perform on an elevated stage. * These specialty businesses would close from midnight to 6 a.m. * Cities and counties could adopt regulations more stringent than the state law. In spite of the apparent set-back, the Capital-Journal reported that Rep. Forrest Knox (R-Altoona) said the House should refuse to compromise because “secondary influences of sexually oriented businesses were so damaging to communities.”