Bill seeks 18.5% porn tax

OLYMPIA — A Federal Way lawmaker's push to tax pornographic materials to help counter a $6 billion state budget shortfall would likely draw constitutional challenges from the highly litigious adult-entertainment industry.

Democratic Rep. Mark Miloscia said an 18 ½ percent sales tax should be levied against Playboy and other adult magazines, as well as pornographic photographs, movies, videos, cable-television services, telephone services, audiotapes, computer programs and paraphernalia. With everyone in the Legislature struggling to find ways to solve the budget crisis, he said, he's surprised nobody else has made a similar proposal.

"For me, it is a no-brainer," Miloscia said, adding that he hopes the tax money generated would go toward saving the General Assistance-Unemployable (GAU), a program that provides a temporary safety net for people unable to work because of mental or physical disabilities.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has proposed axing the GAU to save money.

"People are concerned about jobs leaving the state, but if you look at this industry, this is the last industry people are worried about keeping in the state," Miloscia said.

Miloscia points to a proposal in California last year to levy a 25 percent tax on that state's several-billion-dollar sex industry. The measure died in committee.

Attorneys representing strip-club chain Déjà Vu and the Seattle strip-club Rick's call the measure, House Bill 2103, unconstitutional.

"It's not targeting speech but targeting a particular kind of speech," said Jack Burns, the attorney for Déjà Vu. "It's pretty disingenuous."

Burns said state government can wage heavy fees against alcohol and cigarettes because those vices aren't protected by the First Amendment.

Gil Levy, who has long represented Rick's and other adult clubs, said he will advise his clients to fight the tax proposal.

"You can't impose an arbitrary tax on a newspaper industry; you can't impose an arbitrary tax on the adult-entertainment industry," Levy said.

The adult-entertainment industry has a history of fighting government regulations in court.

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said that an attorney for the Democratic caucus has legal questions about the measure the way it is written. But Kessler said if the bill is cleaned up before heading to committee it might have a chance to pass the House and Senate.

"I like the concept of having a revenue stream that would be used for something we would normally have to cut," said Kessler, who is co-sponsoring the measure. "It's not like taxing motherhood and apple pie. It's such an easy target."

Miloscia said he isn't sure how much money the state would receive through such a tax. He said he has bipartisan support for House Bill 2103 and is certain it will be heard before the House Finance Committee in the coming days.

The new tax would need a supermajority vote in the Legislature or else approval by voters — which Miloscia thinks would be a good thing.

"I think if this was put on the ballot it would pass overwhelmingly," he said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 360-236-8267 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com