JACKSON - Rep. Gary Chism of Columbus is optimistic Gov. Haley Barbour will sign into law legislation passed Friday to allow county governments to regulate strip clubs.

"At least, this allows supervisors to decide if they want ordinances without having to zone the entire county," said Chism, who introduced the bill.

The Senate passed the House-originated bill Friday morning with limited debate and with no one voting against it.

Senate County Affairs Chair Nickey Browning of Pontotoc said the bill aims to answer questions about whether counties that choose not to impose often politically unpopular zoning regulations could single out topless clubs for such regulations.

The bill, if Barbour signs it into law, would clarify that they can.

"The counties could make sure they are not close to churches or schools or anything else strip clubs shouldn't be close to," Browning said.

Barbour spokesman Dan Turner said, "If it does what it purports to do, and there are no internal problems with the bill, the governor will sign it."

Chism said he's "confident" the governor will approve.

But Turner noted the governor always likes to study a bill's content before saying whether he will sign it.

Browning said the bill also will allow boards of supervisors to place restrictions on signs outside strip clubs. Complaints were voiced recently about the stallion statue outside The Pony nightclub on U.S. Highway 45 Alternate south of West Point in Lowndes County.

The Pony also was in the news weeks ago when some football recruits claimed they visited the club with current Mississippi State University players. They later said their Internet postings about the trip were "a joke."

Laws already allow the three Gulf Coast counties to regulate topless clubs, with restrictions on dancers and on what is served in the clubs.

However, The Pony and other existing non-Coast strip clubs would be "grandfathered in" and not affected by new regulations, Chism said, unless they close and reopen under new ownership.

Chism noted that some counties have passed ordinances related to strip clubs under a "home rule" principal, but the newly passed bill could give these kinds of actions stronger legal backing.

Contact Bobby Harrison at (601) 353-3119 or bobby.harrison@djournal.com. Patsy R. Brumfield contributed to this story.