In a disappointing vote, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee killed a bill that would have banned recipients of public assistance from taking their government benefits out of strip club ATMs. We thought this was good legislation, and so did the House which voted for it 48-17.
Beyond the idea of limited taxpayer dollars going to line Destiny's g-string, we thought it was a bad idea because strip club ATMs charge such a ridiculous fee for taking out cash.
The state is already paying over $6 million in bank card fees, do we really need to pay more to Shotgun Willie's Showclub?
Not that we want to make it harder for people on public assistance to access money, but a few rules for where that money can be accessed seems like sensible policy.
In just three months of 2010, the Colorado Deparment of Human Services found 423 instances of public assistance account withdrawals from ATMs in casinos.
Liquor stores we can understand, as they unfortunately litter poorer neighborhoods, but strip clubs and casinos are too far. If there is a bouncer at the door, ATM withdrawees should go looking for another store.
It seems to us the Senate is the place where good legislation goes to die this year.
The partisanship of the Senate Democrats is just astounding. What reason could they have for killing this bill?
This was commonsense, bipartisan legislation. The Senate seems bound and determined to kill anything with a GOP name on it. It’s petty and nonsensical. I hope the voters remember this.