Aqua
05-24-2007, 04:48 PM
(SF)
Original story here (http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4831170.html)
Funds go to state sex assault prevention fund
By KRISTEN MACK
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
AUSTIN — Strip clubs would have to peel off $5 per customer for a new state sex assault prevention fund under legislation approved by the state Senate Wednesday.
The measure, pushed through the House earlier by Rep. Ellen Cohen, would require the clubs to take a daily count of patrons and pay the state $5 for each one. Those records would be subject to audits from the state comptroller.
It would be up to the clubs to determine how much, if any, of the burden to pass on to the customers.
The fee is expected to raise $87 million over the next biennium — $25 million of which would go toward a sex assault prevention fund. The rest would go to the Texas health opportunity pool, which is used to provide assistance to low-income people.
Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, acknowledged colleagues' concerns about whether attaching a $5 fee to strip club patrons was an appropriate way to raise money for sexual assault prevention.
"I had to make a decision to find a revenue source for issues important to me," he said. "It won't impact business and will serve a good cause."
West called the fee nominal.
Cohen, a freshman Democrat and president of the Houston Area Women's Center, said the fee "is not going to cause great hardship for anyone and will lead to great good. Why not?"
Strip club owners and managers have said their clients are being unfairly targeted and balked at the suggestion that people who frequent adult entertainment establishments commit sexual assaults.
It's not clear how many establishments in Texas would be affected by the bill. Tax records in the State Comptroller's Office list 151 sexually oriented businesses that serve alcohol.
But some clubs that feature topless or nude performances do not serve alcohol and therefore are not on the liquor tax rolls.
The measure is moving through the Legislature as the city of Houston prepares to shut down sexually oriented businesses that operate near schools, churches, parks and one another.
"The source of revenue may come and go," Cohen said. "But it will not affect the original intent of the bill, to set aside the first $25 million for sexual assault prevention."
House Bill 1751 was amended in the Senate and must go back to the House, where members must concur with the changes.
It passed the Senate on a vote of 28-1. Sen. Kel Seligercq, R-Amarillo, voted against it. Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, proposed amending it to set aside a portion of the revenue for other programs, including nonprofit groups that provide resources to pregnant women. He eventually withdrew his amendment and supported the measure.
"I don't want the fact that the government is making money from them to make them harder to close. I would rather see the businesses close down," he said after the vote. "If we base our budget on a combination of sin taxes, we are kind of supporting the sin."
Original story here (http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4831170.html)
Funds go to state sex assault prevention fund
By KRISTEN MACK
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
AUSTIN — Strip clubs would have to peel off $5 per customer for a new state sex assault prevention fund under legislation approved by the state Senate Wednesday.
The measure, pushed through the House earlier by Rep. Ellen Cohen, would require the clubs to take a daily count of patrons and pay the state $5 for each one. Those records would be subject to audits from the state comptroller.
It would be up to the clubs to determine how much, if any, of the burden to pass on to the customers.
The fee is expected to raise $87 million over the next biennium — $25 million of which would go toward a sex assault prevention fund. The rest would go to the Texas health opportunity pool, which is used to provide assistance to low-income people.
Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, acknowledged colleagues' concerns about whether attaching a $5 fee to strip club patrons was an appropriate way to raise money for sexual assault prevention.
"I had to make a decision to find a revenue source for issues important to me," he said. "It won't impact business and will serve a good cause."
West called the fee nominal.
Cohen, a freshman Democrat and president of the Houston Area Women's Center, said the fee "is not going to cause great hardship for anyone and will lead to great good. Why not?"
Strip club owners and managers have said their clients are being unfairly targeted and balked at the suggestion that people who frequent adult entertainment establishments commit sexual assaults.
It's not clear how many establishments in Texas would be affected by the bill. Tax records in the State Comptroller's Office list 151 sexually oriented businesses that serve alcohol.
But some clubs that feature topless or nude performances do not serve alcohol and therefore are not on the liquor tax rolls.
The measure is moving through the Legislature as the city of Houston prepares to shut down sexually oriented businesses that operate near schools, churches, parks and one another.
"The source of revenue may come and go," Cohen said. "But it will not affect the original intent of the bill, to set aside the first $25 million for sexual assault prevention."
House Bill 1751 was amended in the Senate and must go back to the House, where members must concur with the changes.
It passed the Senate on a vote of 28-1. Sen. Kel Seligercq, R-Amarillo, voted against it. Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, proposed amending it to set aside a portion of the revenue for other programs, including nonprofit groups that provide resources to pregnant women. He eventually withdrew his amendment and supported the measure.
"I don't want the fact that the government is making money from them to make them harder to close. I would rather see the businesses close down," he said after the vote. "If we base our budget on a combination of sin taxes, we are kind of supporting the sin."