OLYMPIA, Wash. — Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill into law Monday afternoon that hopes to improve safety conditions at strip clubs in Washington state.
Senate Bill 6105 includes requirements such as new safety training for all dancers and employees on sexual harassment and human trafficking, installation of panic buttons in private dance rooms and added security officers at each club, among other changes.
The bill, also known as the "strippers' bill of rights," passed in the House and Senate before Inslee signed the legislation into law.
The legislation will require all adult entertainment venues to have written procedures for dealing with or ejecting violent or intoxicated customers and repeal a current law prohibiting adult entertainment establishments from having liquor licenses at venues with full or partial nudity.
In the wake of the legislation being signed into law, Supernova Seattle announced on March 11 that it planned to become the first strip club in Washington state to serve alcohol.
The nightclub's pivot comes after the Liquor and Cannabis Board moved to suspend its lewd conduct enforcement for businesses that distribute alcohol.
"We're introducing Seattle's first fully nude dance club with the repeal of the Lewd Conduct Act," said Zac Levine, the owner of Supernova.
In response to the announcement, the LCB said Supernova Seattle has a nightclub license but does not have provisions to sell alcohol legally.
"The actions planned at Supernova are not condoned in the law, WAC (Washington Administrative Code), or the spirit of the bill as passed by the Legislature (worker/workplace safety)," the LCB said earlier this month. "There are no new rules that will protect the dancers who work there."
The recent changes at nightclubs were part of a statewide push to reform the industry in 2024.
Four women spoke to KING 5 in February about their experiences working as strippers in Washington. They highlighted concerns for their safety and threats they often face in the workplace, how the sale of alcohol would change their work lives and how clubs could better provide financial security.
"It is an avenue of self-expression and empowerment that could exist in a truly safe and inclusive manner," said one dancer named Kasey. "And the only reason it does not is because of the regulations and the laws and the stigma around."