德州新聞

Texas Supreme Court upholds Adult Entertainment Fee as Constitutional

(08/26/2011)

In March of 2010, The Supreme Court of Texas heard oral arguments regarding the adult entertainment fee (Texas Entertainment Association, Inc. and Karpod, Inc. vs. Susan Combs, Comptroller of The State of Texas and Greg Abbott, Attorney General ) at St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio. Today in a unanimous and unprecedented ruling, The Supreme Court of Texas upheld the constitutionality of the adult entertainment fee.

The $5-per-patron fee, which the Legislature approved in 2007, applies to clubs that allow for live nude dancing and the consumption of alcohol. In December of 2007, strip club owners filed suit to block the charge alleging the fee violates their constitutional right to free speech.

“What this means for Texas, for Rape Crisis Centers, and for survivors in our state is that we will have a sustainable source of funding for sexual assault programs, and most importantly, for sexual assault survivors. In this current economic situation, and with impending cuts to our current funding, this is what we are most proud of,” said Annette Burrhus Clay, Executive Director of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault.

Thrilled by the decision, the author of the legislation, former Rep. Ellen Cohen and current Houston City Council candidate agrees saying, “This means we can add programs and provide services to survivors across Texas without an increase in taxes.”

In Texas, a person is sexually assaulted every two minutes. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 20 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) is the statewide organization committed to ending sexual violence in Texas. A non-profit educational and advocacy organization based in Austin, TAASA member agencies comprise a statewide network of more than 80 crisis centers that serve rural as well as metropolitan areas. Founded in 1982, the agency has a strong record of success in community education, youth outreach, law enforcement training, legislative advocacy, and curricula and materials development. Additional information about TAASA can be found at www.taasa.org.

( 回首頁 Houston eWIND )

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