Mike Ross reports: "Last Monday, Arizona's Jim Schafer called, alerting us to 3 possible amendments that might be introduced that are designed to harm the adult cabaret industry. The amendments were expected to be inserted into a bill that currently sits before the legislature, but the number was not known.
"The 3 concepts that are/were proposed as amendments, were designed to enhance the overall powers of the Alcohol Board by: \n· Giving the director, ultimate power to make decisions as needed; \n· Defining how large a "room" is; \n· Outlawing dancing in alcohol establishments after 1 PM.
"After Shafer's call, we contacted our sources, and for 2 days searched for the bill, and couldn't find it. On Wednesday, Shafer called and said that the bill was part of a package of proposed amendments that 'were not adopted by the house' to a bill that required alcohol establishments to be 300 feet away from schools and other sensitive use facilities.
"As a result of this last ditch attempt to get something passed, it appears that all 'cabaret issues' are dead for the year, with an outside chance of something popping up in the last 2 weeks of session.
"We're happy at the way the session ended. It's apparent that besides making 'friends,' a network has been created that's sharing information and working together. As the session comes to a close, we'll now turn our attention to local government actions, fund-raising and the 2001 session.
