Texas- from www.dallasnews.com- Wading again into a bitter struggle over how to tax strip clubs, the Texas Senate took a highly unusual vote Wednesday to reverse its approval of one version so lawmakers can see what happens to the other one.

The strip club industry has taken sides in the debate, and so far the industry is winning. But that’s not what sparked Wednesday’s move in the Senate.

At issue is a personal battle between two Democratic state representatives from Houston — Ellen Cohen and Senfronia Thompson [pictured]. Cohen’s bill would slap a mandatory $3 entry fee on strip clubs. Thompson’s legislation, favored by the club owners, would impose a voluntary tax on sexually oriented businesses.

In the battle of wills between the two women, the Senate has essentially cast its lot with Thompson, one of the most senior members of the Legislature. The man carrying Thompson’s bill in the upper chamber, Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, made it clear that he got involved not for some burning policy goal, but rather because he wanted to see Thompson prevail over Cohen.

“This is all about Representative Thompson and Representative Cohen. It’s their battle,” Carona said. “Senfronia called on me just because she and I have worked successfully on a lot of bills over the years. I guess she figures I was either dumb enough or tough enough to get it passed. I’m still trying to figure out which one.”

The Senate had approved Thompson’s voluntary tax Tuesday and the bill was on its way to the governor. In the meantime, though, Cohen’s bill had come up for consideration in the House. Though Cohen’s bill could be derailed on technical defects, Carona got worried that it would pass after Thompson’s did.

And whichever bill gets to the governor’s desk last is the one that prevails, Carona said. Some Senate staffers said they had never seen a bill on its way to the governor get called back, but Carona said what can be imagined can be achieved in politics.

“Around here, eventually everything happens,” Carona said. “If you got the votes, you can do anything.” The legislation stays parked now in the Senate until Carona is ready to move it again.

Critics say the Thompson bill is little more than a ruse by strip club owners to avoid additional taxes. Advocates for victims of sexual violence are supporting Cohen’s mandatory $3 door fee.

Torie Camp, deputy director of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, said her organization opposes Thompson’s legislation, which imposes a 10-percent gross receipts tax on admissions to sexually oriented businesses.

“It was written by the strip club industry. It was supported only by the strip club industry,” she said. “Who do you want to side with? Do you want to side with the strip clubs or do you want to side with sexual assault survivors?”

Cohen’s bill — tweaking her legislation from 2007 — imposes a $3 admission fee, instead of the previous $5 fee, and it eliminates funding for a health care pool, which a court found should not be connected to the fee. Because of the court intervention, the $5 fee never took effect.

TAASA contends there’s a proven link between live, nude entertainment, consumption of alcohol and sexual violence and wants funding from the fee to go to sexual assault survivors.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Perry, who has supported taxing adult entertainment in the past, has weighed in on the controversy. He said that those abused by sexual assault need support, though it’s still unclear what form that will come in.

Perry said he would get input from those who worked on the bill and from his wife, first lady Anita Perry, who contracts with the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault.

“This is one we need to get right. We obviously agree that there are some needs in that community of individuals who have been abused, that need our support, and this is a way to help fund that, and I’m supportive of it,” Perry said.

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Thompson’s 10-percent admissions tax bill is HB982. Cohen’s $3 admission fee bill is HB2070.