Board to consider background checks for adult businesses
County Supervisors won’t require video cameras in adult businesses, but on Tuesday they’ll consider a rigorous criminal background check for prospective adult business operators.
A proposed adult business permitting process is part of two such ordinances that county officials are updating.
It would require applicants to pay $400 for an annual permitting process that includes participating a criminal background check and submitting fingerprints and their photograph.
That’s $100 less than the $500 that was originally charged for county adult business permits.
According to the proposed ordinance amendment, someone who in the past 10 years has been convicted of a homicide, robbery, malicious wounding or a sex crime can’t operate an adult business.
The permitting process that’s on the books now does not.
Neither can someone who has been convicted of a felony in the past five years or a crime of moral turpitude or one relating to the obscenity laws in the past three years.
The laws would govern operators of adult bookstores, adult video stores with sexual paraphernalia and any business with adult entertainment.
If the supervisors approve the amended adult business permitting regulations, the county would also be able to revoke a permit if the operator of such a business commits any of these crimes.
On July 22, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors decided to drop a contested portion of an adult business regulation amendment that would require video recordings of customers be available to police upon request.
Supervisor Chairman Sean T. Connaughton, R-at-large, said he suggested that they drop the video camera requirement after an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union threatened a lawsuit.
If that portion was not removed, it would have required adult business owners to hand over the video tapes to police at any time.
The adult business regulation that did pass requires the businesses to be keep at least 500 feet from homes, day care centers, schools, libraries, places of worship, parks and other adult businesses.
A public hearing on the proposed permitting amendments will be held at the McCoart Administrative Center, One County Complex Court.
The public hearing begins at 2 p.m.