Texas Legislator Files Atypical Amicus Brief in Support of ‘Pole Tax’

Law.com (Texas Lawyer): “On Nov. 20, state Rep. Ellen Cohen, D-Houston, and two advocacy groups submitted an amicus brief to the high court in Susan Combs, et al. v. Texas Entertainment Association, et al. in the hopes of shedding more light on the reasons the Texas Legislature passed the 2008 law. The law imposes a $5 tax on each customer who enters a sexually oriented business (SOB) that serves alcohol. Cohen, who directed the Houston Area Women’s Center for 18 years, sponsored H.B. 1751, which created the SOB law . . . [See Cohen's amicus brief, the petitioner's brief on the merits and the respondents' brief on the merits.]“