Judge strips the strip club fee, says it's unconstitutional

AUSTIN -- The stripper club fee has been stripped from the law books -- at least for now. That's the word Friday from Austin, where Judge Scott Jenkins ruled that the state's recent imposition of a $5-a-head tax on topless club patrons violates the U.S. Constitution. The state plans to appeal the ruling, officials said.

Jenkins found that the fee, passed by the Legislature last year, had singled out a "business activity involving expression that, while politically unpopular,is nevertheless protected by the First Amendment.''  The $5 door fee was designed to pay for sexual assault prevention and health insurance programs for the poor. Jenkins said those were "laudable goals" but he ruled that the Legislature had failed to directly tie the erotic activity they wanted to tax with the social ills they hoped to remedy. In particular, the bulk of the money from the fee was destined for health insurance programs, and Jenkins said there is "no evidence that combining alcohol with nude erotic dancing causes dancers to be uninsured, or that any uninsured dancer could qualify for assistance from the fund.''

Steward Whitehead, who represented a group of topless clubs that filed the lawsuit, applauded the opinion, saying: "We think that the programs that were to be funded from this tax are worthy. But we strongly disagree with the unconstitutional way the Legislature chose to do so. The court agreed with us.’’ The fight isn't over yet, though.

Jerry Strickland, a spokesman for Attorney General Greg Abbott, said the state would appeal the ruling. Citing reports that a Dallas strip club had illegally allowed a 12-year-old to dance, Strickland said Abbott's office would "vigorously appeal the trial court’s ruling and remains committed to sexual assault awareness and prevention."

-- Jay Root

Comments

[elise]

Nice clip art you have accompanying this post.