State Bill Targets Nude Dance Clubs

The state Assembly gave final approval Monday to a bill by an Orange County lawmaker that would give California cities a bit more power to regulate nude dance clubs attempting to set up shop.

The measure by Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) won approval in the Assembly on a 58-4 vote and now goes to Gov. Pete Wilson, who is expected to sign it.

But it was only a partial victory for Baugh. The lawmaker originally sought to give cities broad power to regulate all clubs, including those already in business, on issues ranging from how dancers collect tips to whether they wear G-strings.

Concerned about their livelihood, strip club employees sent more than 15,000 letters of protest to Sacramento in recent months, according to Mike Ross, a lobbyist for the clubs. The lobbying effort persuaded lawmakers in the Senate to tone down Baugh’s bill.

As now drafted, there is no prohibition on tipping or full nudity in existing clubs that now feature it. It does, however, give cities more power to block new clubs that want to feature full nudity.

Currently, the state requires dancers to cover their genitals in clubs that serve alcohol. But hundreds of strip clubs up and down the state have avoided those regulations by not serving alcoholic beverages. They’ve also skirted attempts by local cities to prohibit full nudity by calling themselves theaters, which enjoy constitutional free speech protections.

Baugh’s bill prohibits new clubs from using the theater exemption to avoid local laws against full nudity.

Ross said the adult entertainment industry could live with Baugh’s bill, but he realizes the battle over standards is far from over. “We fully expect more of this stuff to come back next year,” he said. “Lawmakers love to kick us around.”