Legislature(1995 - 1996)
04/05/1995 01:12 PM House JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
TAPE 95-42, SIDE B
Number 000
CSSB 106(JUD) - NO MINORS WORK/ATTEND ADULT BUSINESSES
TERESA SAGER, Committee Aide, Senate Rules Committee, introduced
the bill. Sponsor statement:
"Senate Bill 106 would prohibit businesses that provide adult
entertainment, such as strip tease establishments, from allowing
persons under 18 to patronize or be employed at such businesses.
"Most adult entertainment establishments in Alaska serve alcohol
which requires that employees be at least 19 and customers at least
21 years of age. However, recently some adult entertainment
businesses have opened in Anchorage and Fairbanks that do not serve
alcohol, therefore, the age limit rules that are usually imposed
because of the service of alcohol do not apply.
"CSSB 106(JUD) aims to close that loophole, ensuring that minors
may not work in or patronize any such establishment, regardless of
the nature of the work and regardless of whether the business does
or does not serve alcohol.
"The bill establishes the following penalties:
Business allowing minors as patrons:
Class A Misdemeanor(up to $5,000 fine, up to 1 year
jail)
Business employing minors, 1st offense:
Class A Misdemeanor (up to $5,000 fine, up to 1 year
jail)
Business employing minors, 2nd & subsequent offenses:
Class C Felony (up to $50,000 fine, up to 5 years jail)"
REPRESENTATIVE VEZEY could not recall a single business venture
that has survived commercially, that has not served alcohol. Do we
even need to worry about these businesses continuing?
CHAIRMAN PORTER said one of the reasons these businesses providing
entertainment to minors do not work, is that the law enforcement
agencies in the communities are forced into monitoring these places
night after night after night. This is the only way to disallow
the function of consuming alcohol on or near the premises. This
bill would do away with the need to monitor these clubs, because it
would pretty well do away with the employers' ability to run them.
Number 080
REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN asked about Section 3. In (f) 1 and 2
we have set up a standard for what the violation is: "dancing
partly or completely unclothed, removing clothes," and the
penalties seem to make sense. If you are caught doing it, you get
the lowest level of misdemeanor, a fine up to $500, and up to 90
days in jail. Then the penalties go up from there. None of that
makes any sense to me for (f) 3. Here is a person who is
participating in either actual or simulated sexual penetration, or
various categories of exhibition or bestiality. It is like apples
and oranges in this section. We have a little stiffer laws than
these already for someone who was to engage a minor in these kinds
of activities. Am I missing something here?
MS. SAGER asked if Representative Finkelstein was saying that there
is a differentiation of penalties for the type of activity and for
the type of entertainment offered?
REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN answered no, but to clarify it, he
completely understands the penalties and the provisions as they
would apply to numbers 1 and 2 under Section 3. But when you get
to number 3 of Section 3, we have already got a whole variety of
laws that deal with an adult or individual who engages or hires a
minor to be involved in sexual penetration or some of these other
things. It does not seem that we would want to apply these lower
penalties to something like this. It does not necessarily relate
to what this bill is after.
CHAIRMAN PORTER noted that Section 3 is a prohibition against
allowing a minor to work in a premise that does this. The
presumption would be that this would be an adult premise,
precluding minors from being patrons, but there are exceptions for
minors to work in places that have liquor licenses, for example.
He said he knows that there are jurisdictions within the United
States where they actually allow live sex acts.
REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN said that is right but we do not allow
such acts. That is the point.
CHAIRMAN PORTER answered that in case we ever do allow them, we are
saying that we are sure we do not want minors working there.
REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN still felt that if it did occur, this is
way too small of a penalty for this kind of activity.
CHAIRMAN PORTER said this would not be for the activity itself, it
would be just for allowing a minor to work there.
REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN stated that Section 4 appears to be for
the minor, and Section 5 for the employer.
ANNE CARPENETI, House Judiciary Committee Aide, explained that all
of the penalties in this bill are for the employer, or his/her
agent.
REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN asked what the difference was between
Sections 4 and 5.
MS. CARPENETI answered that Section 4 sets forth the penalty for
allowing a minor to be present at an establishment, whereas Section
5 sets the penalty for employing them at one.
REPRESENTATIVE FINKELSTEIN said that made sense.
CHARLES MCKEE testified via teleconference from Anchorage. He said
with what this bill is attempting to do, the penalties are not
stiff enough. They are only misdemeanors. He did not know if any
of the committee members would appreciate their 18-year-old
daughters working in establishments such as these mentioned. He
recommended these establishments be shut down. They should not be
in business. He talked to an operator last Sunday who was bragging
to another individual that he had 14 back rooms for activities
other than stage acts. He realized who he was talking to, and they
do not have the appropriate liability coverage, nor does the state.
Under Senate Bill 53, they tried to violate his individual property
rights. Seeing how they do not have the right to purchase
appropriate liability coverage, they should not be in business at
all.
Number 270
REPRESENTATIVE CYNTHIA TOOHEY made a motion to move the bill out of
committee with individual recommendations and zero fiscal notes.
Seeing no objection, CSSB 106(JUD) moved.
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