NASHVILLE, TN – The state of Tennessee has a new professional organization and a new business face to represent its interests in the halls of justice. The Tennessee Cabaret Association is newly formed, yet it already has hired Tracy O’Neill as its lobbyist. O’Neill plans attend this session of the state’s General Assembly.O’Neill has already registered to lobby the Nashville Metro Council for Déjà Vu, which recently lost a long court battle after U.S. District Court Judge Todd Campbell removed obstacles to enforcing a 1997 injunction which had banned lap dances and created an adult business and entertainer’s licensing board.
The club’s president and director, Joe Hall, believes that part of the problem clubs are experiencing are a result of them not having “done a great job of letting both the state and local government entities know how big a part of the local economy and tax base” the clubs are.
Hall cautioned government officials against “going out and imposing a significant number of restrictions” because they would not only harm businesses but also incur greater governmental expense in order to monitor and enforce them. Although always a concern, Hall feels that Nashville is especially incapable of handling the loss in tax revenue and increase in government spending now that the city is dealing with “budget issues.”
So far the city has hired one inspector to ensure compliance with ordinance regulations.
Hall does not dispute the fact that clubs have had problems in the past, among them prostitution, but he believes they have been resolved and that increased restrictions are not the answer. “I think there are better ways to go about achieving the desired results,” he concluded.
