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Mannix aims new bill at nude dancing clubs If it clears Legislature, measure goes to voters From wire and staff reports SALEM -- Calling Oregon's nude dancing industry a "chronic problem," a key Republican lawmaker on Tuesday outlined his effort to allow state and local governments to put a stop to stripping. Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, has unsuccessfully targeted Oregon's obscenity laws in the past. His latest measure, however, is aimed at live nude dancing at bars and clubs instead of books, movies or video parlors that deal in pornography. "Oregon is the only state that cannot regulate total nudity," said Mannix, an attorney. "Many communities would like to regulate that." Under his measure, HJR2, communities could choose to prohibit total nudity at clubs, stop underage dancers from performing and keep customers from touching the dancers. Mannix also wants to change the measure to add places that serve juice and attract younger customers. If the measure clears the Legislature, it will go to voters in the November 2000 election. The change could affect Le Dolls in downtown Medford. No one from Southern Oregon testified Tuesday on Mannix's proposal. Rep. Rob Patridge, R-Medford, said he expects local participation when a House committee takes up a different measure he is sponsoring. His proposal and another pending in the House would apply to sexually oriented businesses such as Castle Superstores, which moved into a vacant grocery store in Medford last fall and is planning a store in southwest Portland. Because they also would amend Oregon's constitutional guarantee of free expression, which is broader than the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, they also would require a statewide vote. House Joint Resolution 52, sponsored by Patridge, would allow local governments to use zoning authority to regulate such businesses but omits specifics. Co-sponsors include Mannix and Reps. Jason Atkinson, R-Jacksonville; Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass; and Susan Morgan, R-Myrtle Creek. It has been assigned to the House Judiciary-Civil Law Committee, which has not yet scheduled a hearing. Another measure, House Joint Resolution 32, sponsored by Mannix, would allow the state or local governments to use zoning authority to place such businesses at least 1,000 feet away from houses, residential neighborhoods, schools and parks. It has been assigned to the House Committee on General Government, which has not yet scheduled a hearing. Voters defeated two attempts in 1994 and 1996 to narrow the free-expression provision of the state constitution. As far as the nude dancing bill, "I'd love to see this regulated," said Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass, who is chairman of the House General Government Committee that considered the Mannix bill. "These places really tend to shock the sensibilities of smaller towns." A nude dancing club in the eastern Oregon town of Nyssa, near Ontario, has done just that, community members said. The club, which does not serve alcohol, attracts customers as young as 18 from around the state and across the Idaho border and has caused nothing but trouble, they say. But Randy Kaizer, an owner of the Star Cabaret nude dance clubs in Beaverton and Salem, said there is no evidence of problems associated with nude dancing. Other opponents of the bill said the government shouldn't be in the business of regulating morality. "I can't imagine how people get thrills out of those places," said Rep. Jo Ann Bowman, D-Portland. "But people can do what they want if that's what turns them on." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA