Did I hear that right?
shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
A Kansas legislative committee voted Friday morning to kill legislation that could have effectively banned strip clubs and lap dances in the state.
The state House Federal and State Affairs Committee used a voice vote to kill the measure, referred to as a ban by state legislators and designed to place zoning restrictions on where strip clubs could set up shop. The zoning restrictions included prohibiting strip clubs from within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, day care centers, libraries and churches.
The Friday vote to kill the bill came shortly after the same committee had amended the legislation, removing provisions that would have strictly regulated what happened inside strip clubs, effectively banning them from the state, according to legislators. The provisions also would have prohibited lap dances and semi-nude wrestling and tumbling. Committee members argued that even with the amendment that removed the provisions and preserved only the zoning restrictions, if the bill had passed, the full House of Representatives would likely have sought to reinstate the broader bans.
State Rep. Brett Hildabrand (R-Shawnee) told The Huffington Post that he voted against the final bill -- despite authoring the amendment that preserved the zoning restrictions -- because while he thinks local governments should have the authority to regulate zoning, he more broadly believes the government should not regulate business.
"I am of the belief that even though I may not support a business, it is not the government's job to regulate it out of existence," Hildabrand said.
He noted the bill originally had started as purely a zoning measure, following concerns in the town of Meriden regarding the location of a strip club. But then the bill had been introduced for several legislative sessions, continuing to take on more provisions -- though failing to pass -- until it became nearly identical to the bill Missouri lawmakers passed several years ago. That legislation effectively banned strip clubs in Missouri, and was upheld by the state's Supreme Court. The Kansas bill would have been retroactively applied to the currently existing strip clubs in the state.
The state House Federal and State Affairs Committee used a voice vote to kill the measure, referred to as a ban by state legislators and designed to place zoning restrictions on where strip clubs could set up shop. The zoning restrictions included prohibiting strip clubs from within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, day care centers, libraries and churches.
The Friday vote to kill the bill came shortly after the same committee had amended the legislation, removing provisions that would have strictly regulated what happened inside strip clubs, effectively banning them from the state, according to legislators. The provisions also would have prohibited lap dances and semi-nude wrestling and tumbling. Committee members argued that even with the amendment that removed the provisions and preserved only the zoning restrictions, if the bill had passed, the full House of Representatives would likely have sought to reinstate the broader bans.
State Rep. Brett Hildabrand (R-Shawnee) told The Huffington Post that he voted against the final bill -- despite authoring the amendment that preserved the zoning restrictions -- because while he thinks local governments should have the authority to regulate zoning, he more broadly believes the government should not regulate business.
"I am of the belief that even though I may not support a business, it is not the government's job to regulate it out of existence," Hildabrand said.
He noted the bill originally had started as purely a zoning measure, following concerns in the town of Meriden regarding the location of a strip club. But then the bill had been introduced for several legislative sessions, continuing to take on more provisions -- though failing to pass -- until it became nearly identical to the bill Missouri lawmakers passed several years ago. That legislation effectively banned strip clubs in Missouri, and was upheld by the state's Supreme Court. The Kansas bill would have been retroactively applied to the currently existing strip clubs in the state.
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