AGO 2001-219.

• Case Date: July 11, 2001
• Court: Alabama

Alabama Attorney General Opinions 2001. AGO 2001-219. 2001-219July 11, 2001Honorable Johnny Mack Morrow Member, House of Representatives 512 4th Avenue, S.E. Red Bay, Alabama 35582 Municipalities - County Commissions - Topless Dancing - Colbert County Colbert County may, pursuant to Act No. 2000-337, prohibit topless dancing in establishments that serve alcoholic beverages.Dear Representative Morrow: This opinion of the Attorney General is issued in response to your request. QUESTION Pursuant to Act No. 2000-337, do the municipalities in Colbert County and the Colbert County Commission have the power to prohibit topless dancing on the premises of a business that serves or sells alcoholic beverages in Colbert County? FACTS, LAW, AND ANALYSIS Act No. 2000-337 expressly authorizes municipalities in Colbert County and the Colbert County Commission to prohibit topless dancing on the premises of a business that serves or sells alcoholic beverages. Both state and federal courts have approved regulations prohibiting topless dancing on the premises of a business that serves or sells alcohol. In New York State Liquor Authority v. Ballanca, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a New York statute banning nude dancing in establishments licensed by the state to serve liquor was within the authority of the state to regulate liquor sales under the Twenty-first Amendment. New YorkState Liquor Authority v. Ballanca, 452 U.S. 714, 69 L. Ed. 2d 357, 101 S. Ct. 2599 (1981). The Court said that whatever artistic or communicative value might attach to topless dancing was overcome by the state's exercise of its broad powers under the Twenty-first Amendment. Id. at 717. This...