County commissioners have voted to begin a process that may place some proposed adult ordinances on the ballot for voters to decide.
Two ordinances are being considered, according to a report in the Billings Gazette. One would outlaw the distribution of obscene materials within Yellowstone County. The other would use zoning laws to regulate sexually oriented businesses such as adult bookstores and bars that allow nude dancing.
Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinances this summer, and they could be placed on the primary election ballot next June or the general election ballot in November, the report said.
The decision to pass the buck to voters is the latest ploy in a history of reluctant or uncertain commissioners being pressured by Citizens Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE), the Gazette reported. The idea for the ordinances started in 2001, when Planet Lockwood opened an exotic dance club in the county. The Reverend Ron Palmer formed CASE to try to close it down. The proposed ordinances were drafted by CASE.
In the past, the commissioners have been dubious of the CASE ordinances and have expressed fears of expensive litigation.
“If we put these ordinances on the ballot, somebody could file a lawsuit and we would end up fighting in court for the next five or six years,” said Commissioner Bill Kennedy in February, 2004. Kennedy argued that the commissioners wanted to limit taxpayer expense if the case is litigated, citing the fact that taxpayers in Ravalli County had paid thousands of dollars to defend three obscenity ordinances that were nullified in court, according to the report.
