A bill creating new regulations for strip clubs failed today Friday in a Kansas House committee.
The requirements would have included a rule barring any contact between dancers and patrons. Representative Brett Hildabrand, a Republican from Shawnee, offered an amendment that gutted much of the bill, with the exception of regulations dictating where clubs could be located. He said he originally understood that the bill would only regulate zoning issues about the location of clubs, not what happens in the clubs.
“Although I may not necessarily agree with it, at the same time, I didn’t think that that was something we should be regulating," Hildabrand said. "I also had some concerns about the impact that could have. Some law enforcement officers had said we could see more underground criminal activity because of that if we drive it underground.”
Supporters of the bill argued that strip clubs are accompanied by crime and social problems. The bill's failure to make it out of committee may mean the end of the issue for this session in the Legislature.