Committee passes bill restricting use of state funds for sexually explicit events after removing explicit 'drag queen' text

The Senate Revenue Committee narrowly advanced House Bill 134, a measure that prohibits taxpayer-funded state or federal dollars from being used to sponsor events the bill characterizes as sexually explicit; the committee adopted an amendment removing a line that had explicitly listed "drag queen events" and ultimately approved the bill 3–2.

The sponsor (recorded in committee transcript as the bill's representative) told the committee the bill "ensures that taxpayer money is not used to support events that some may find inappropriate or offensive" and described a recent local controversy over a drag show where public-health testing and private fundraising intersected. Early draft language included an explicit example, but after questions from the committee the sponsor agreed with an amendment…