Written by DCist contributor Ian Buckwalter

The startup costs for that strip club you and your friends were hoping to open in Prince George’s County just got a little pricier. And the club itself may have just become a little less attractive to both patrons and performers.

As reported in The Examiner this morning, the Prince George’s County Council passed a bill yesterday requiring that all adult entertainment establishments obtain a license from the county police. As part of the language of the bill, retention of the license (and the right to continue operating) is contingent upon meeting a number of requirements.

Most of the stated requirements seem more than reasonable. The measure dictates standard provisions for the outward appearance of the club, as well as safety measures including adequate parking lot lighting, and provides a mechanism for ensuring that all performers are of legal age to be on stage.

The law requires that dancers must be on a stage 18 inches off the ground, and that performers must be at least six feet from patrons while in a state of undress. This already presents some difficulties, as at this distance, anyone wanting to tip is going to have to fold their bills into a paper airplane to get them to the performer. But the Council has solved this problem as well. Buried deep in the bill is the following requirement: “No entertainer shall demand or collect any payment or gratuity from any patron for entertainment before its completion.” In other words, no tipping at all while on stage. Which reduces the performers to whatever money they can collect while walking around the club after their time on stage, when attentions are diverted to the next person showing off their naughty bits.

Add to this a requirement that all nudity end by 1 a.m. (and not start before 10 a.m.; but were you really planning to have a breakfast bachelor(ette) party anyway?) and one wonders just why adult entertainment seekers and workers would go to the newly chastened PG County clubs when there are less restrictive establishments with more earning potential right across the D.C. border.

Then again, maybe that’s the point.