It’s been five years since Senator Matt Bartle’s effort to regulate adult businesses died in the House under circumstances that apparently interest a federal grand jury. Bartle’s new effort looks a lot like the old one.

Five years ago, Bartle went through his bill during debate section by section, emphasizing that each ingredient had been upheld by one court or another. He’s done it again with this proposal, which lacks the licensing and fees that were in the 2005 bill.

Five years ago, the bill was killed by a hostile committee in the House, sent there by Speaker Rod Jetton after the adult entertainment industry had made a contribution a political committee run by a close Jetton adviser.

Bartle told a grand jury about those circumstances last two days before his bill advanced in the Senate. He says circumstances have removed one opposition factor from 2005. “It’s highly unlikely….that anybody in the legislature’s going to take campaign contributions from a porn shop,” he says.

Bartle says the arrival of campaign contributions just before or just after bills are being considered does not look good. One of the campaign ethics reform proposals this year bans campaign donations to lawmakers during legislative sessions.

Bartle talks to Capitol reporters 6:18 mp3