A bill filed by Columbus Rep. Gary Chism giving Mississippi”s counties the authority to regulate strip clubs is headed to Gov. Haley Barbour.
The bill passed the Senate on Friday. It passed the House earlier.
The legislation gives county supervisors the authority to regulate strip clubs in rural areas.
Chism says he filed House Bill 170 after receiving numerous complaints about The Pony, a strip club that opened on Highway 45 Alternate near the Clay County line, in Lowndes County. The club with the 20-foot anatomically correct statue of a horse was the impetus for the bill, but will not be affected retroactively.
Sen. John Horhn of Jackson says only three counties have such regulations currently in state statute. They are Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties on the coast.
It is currently illegal to single out strip clubs for spot zoning unless an entire county is specifically zoned for particular uses. Lowndes county is unzoned and cannot legally block the opening of a strip club or set restrictions.
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