Pennsylvania- The “pole tax” is a step closer to becoming law in Pennsylvania.

Republican Paul Clymer, a Bucks County state representative, introduced a bill Wednesday that calls for charging a $5 tax for every patron who enters a strip club in the Keystone State.

Seventeen co-sponsors signed on to the bill, which would require erotic dancing establishments to collect and send the new tax to the state, said Clymer.

It would fund the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape. The bill, which has surfaced in similar form in Texas, has been cheekily dubbed by some the “pole tax” — as in pole dancing.

Its formal name is the “Sexually Oriented Businesses Revenue Act.”

“We’re trying to advance good values and morality and be a help to the hardworking parents who are bringing their children up to have strong character,” said Clymer, who is in his 14th term representing the 145th District.

Some in the adult entertainment industry think Clymer is illegally legislating morality while likely dragging Pennsylvania into a legal battle over the constitutionality of the bill, should it become law.

“Whatever happened to separation of church and state?” said Glenn McGogney, an attorney who represents a Milford strip club that prompted Clymer to craft the legislation. “He’s picking on a business he doesn’t like because of his personal religious objections and placing a tax on that.”

Clymer, a Baptist, said his religion “makes a difference in who I am,” but that the underlying purpose of the bill is to help combat a social problem — rape — by using funds from a business that he believes encourages ills such as sexual assault and domestic violence.

Texas is embroiled in a legal battle over the $5-per-patron fee it levied on exotic dancing bars in 2007.

An Austin judge declared it unconstitutional in March, but the tax continues to be collected as an appeal moves through the courts.

“We have strengthened the bill and I believe it will meet constitutional muster,” said Clymer of his Pennsylvania version.

Even if it does, it’s unclear how the pole tax would be enforced.

Clubs would be required to make lump sum quarterly payments to the state, said Clymer. But it appears it would be up to the bars to report how many patrons they hosted and pay the appropriate sum. The clubs are not required to charge each patron $5; but must come up with $5 per patron for the government, the bill says.

“It’s an issue we’re going to have to discuss,” Clymer said of enforcement.

Clymer doesn’t know how much money the tax would generate, in part because he doesn’t have a clear reading on how many strip clubs there are in Pennsylvania.

Some reports say Texas hoped to raise more than $40 million annually for anti-sexual assault programs and health care for the uninsured with its pole tax. Clymer said he spoke with Texas officials who said the tax would generate $18 million to $25 million in the Lone Star State.

“The adult entertainment and pornography business is growing and we need to assess the magnitude of it in Pennsylvania,” said Clymer, who hopes to compile a list of all erotic dancing bars.

The Association of Club Executives, a national trade association of adult nightclubs, has panned the plan as unconstitutional, saying it arbitrarily targets a particular industry. They have also criticized Clymer for linking adult entertainment with rape and other social ills.

“I understand that Rep. Clymer is trying to find creative funding for noble causes, and I empathize with the plight all legislators face during such difficult economic times, but to copy a tax in Texas that has already been ruled unconstitutional risks a greater loss to taxpayers, workers and the commonwealth,” said Angelina Spencer, executive director of ACE.

Clymer expects lengthy discussions on the bill. It will likely be months, at least, before the bill comes to a vote.

Clymer was motivated to introduce the legislation following controversy over the all-nude entertainment of Coyotes Show Bar in Milford, one of the municipalities he represents in traditionally conservative Upper Bucks County.

The club has been pitched in legal battles with Milford since before it even opened in December. A dispute over the terms Coyotes must meet to operate in the township is in Bucks County Court, but hearing dates have not been set, McGogney said. While the club has been targeted by protesters, it continues to do business.