Texas- From www.dallasnews.com- It’s the battle of the strip club bills.
The House is expected to vote today on Rep. Ellen Cohen’s [pictured] adult entertainment fee, which would charge topless clubs $3 per patron to fund sexual assault services in Texas.

Meanwhile, the Senate could vote on Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s bill, which would collect a 10 percent tax on admissions fees charged by sexually oriented businesses.

Coexistence looks unlikely.

Thompson’s bill, which already passed the House, is endorsed by the adult entertainment industry, and for good reason. It is effectively voluntary — clubs would only be taxed if they charge admissions fees. And it repeals a $5 per person fee lawmakers instituted last legislative session, one that would’ve funded sexual assault services and low income health care. That fee has been tied up in the courts ever since.

Cohen, who designed the 2007 fee, is pushing legislation this session to bring the $5 fee down to $3, and to direct it only to sexual assault services. She believes this solves the constitutional questions that have plagued the measure.

But her bill, which has nearly 70 co-authors, still needs to get through the House and the Senate.

Supporters of the $3 fee, including the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, have gone on a media blitz, sending out flyers and talking points. Included is this statistic: Thompson’s tax is expected to bring in about $1 million annually, while Cohen’s $3 fee would produce $16 million. Those numbers are according to an impartial University of Texas research study.