Bill aims to tighten laws on strip clubs

The ACLU says it will determine its involvement on each case individually.
By MICHELE C. HLADIK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Strip club owners beware. State lawmakers are paving the way to strengthen regulations on adult entertainment facilities, but some recently released legislation has a long road to travel before becoming law.
Legislation introduced by state Rep. Twyla Roman would set minimum standards or regulations that local governments could place on the adult clubs. It would also give townships the ability to regulate the facilities.
The Akron-area Republican said townships have no powers to regulate these types of businesses.
"The whole thing is about degrading women and communities," Roman said.
Roman said she has land use studies and information that demonstrate the negative secondary affects these businesses have on the whole community, including increased crime such as robberies and a variety of sex crimes.
She said the information was compiled from police reports from around the country and complaints to city councils.
Not everyone who patronizes these facilities will commit these types of crimes, she acknowledges, but crime does increase. "It's not just about what goes on inside," she said. "It's just such an undesirable thing for communities, especially for families."
Included in bill: In addition to giving townships some authority, House Bill 469 would also:
UAllow governments to restrict how late dancing can continue.
URestrict any touching while females are performing in the nude or partially nude.
UDefine nudity.
URequire employees and patrons to be at least 18.
UMake it easier to shut down businesses with violations.
Roman said limiting how late the dancers can perform is one way to try to prevent an increase in crime. She said the longer a person sits and drinks alcohol, the more likely problems will occur.
Her legislation does not regulate the sale of alcohol.
"Ours would be minimum standards," she said. "[Local governments] could go beyond those minimum standards, but they may be challenged. Even if they go by the minimum standards, it's something."
The bill would also allow local communities to force the business owners to hire dancers as employees. According to Roman, many owners say they did not know what the women were up to because they are privately contracted.
She said authorities think it would be easier to enforce regulations and to make prostitution arrests if the owners are accountable for the actions of their dancers.
Past rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with regulating these facilities were used in crafting the legislation and ensuring it is constitutional. Roman said the bill also mirrors laws found in other states.
ACLU's response: Jillian Davis, staff council for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said many cities have restrictions, and this bill would simply put townships on equal footing.
"We always look skeptically at those regulations, but they can do it," she said, adding any involvement by the ACLU would be determined on an individual case basis.
The bill is in the House Civil and Commercial Law Subcommittee.
Cincinnati Republican Bill Seitz, chairman of the committee, said more testimony on the bill is expected in the latter part of April when the committee returns from spring break.
He said the five attorneys on the subcommittee would be able to examine the legal issues and ask the right questions on a difficult issue.
According to Seitz, he has heard some opposition to the bill including comments from the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association. Philip Craig, executive director of the group could not be reached to comment.
Seitz is unsure if the bill will move fast enough to become law before the end of this legislative session.