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Committee rejects amendment that would have required warning labels at adult-entertainment venues
Summary
An amendment to HB 2314 that proposed warning signs at adult-entertainment establishments and on pornographic materials failed after constitutional concerns were raised; the sponsor withdrew and rolled the bill to the hill.
Representative Fritz (speaker 23) presented an amendment to HB 2314 that would have required warning signage at adult-entertainment venues and on displays of sexually explicit materials, citing research the sponsor said links explicit material to domestic violence and trafficking. The sponsor framed the proposal analogously to warning labels on tobacco or alcohol (SEG 2121–2131, 2142–2156).
Legal counsel (speaker 26) cautioned the committee that the First Amendment protects speech and that the government generally cannot compel private entities to speak; counsel said the mandated warnings could be constitutionally suspect (SEG 2196–2206). The amendment resulted in a tie vote and failed; the sponsor then requested the bill be rolled to the hill rather than press it further in the session (SEG 2216–2259).
The transcript records both the policy goal stated by the sponsor (reducing demand linked to trafficking and violence) and the constitutional concern raised by counsel; no final policy language was adopted in committee.
