united-states licensing
Does a Dance Hall Keeper License have any purpose other than revenue generation?
<p>Does a <a href="https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/bar-licenses-lawyer.html" rel="noreferrer">Dance Hall Keeper License</a> have any purpose other than revenue generation (currently or historically)?</p>

<p>Prohibitions against dancing, especially drinking and dancing in the same venue, have a long history in the United States. It was not until 2017 that New York City <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/nyregion/new-york-cabaret-law-repeal.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">repealed its Cabaret Law</a>, which forbade dancing at establishments that served food and liquor without said license.</p>
<p>So the purpose is to not get fined if people dance at your bar, club, or restaurant. If you're asking if it serves a purpose in terms of public interest, that's a question for Politics SE.</p>

<p>The requirement of a license makes it easy to prohibit this conduct if improper safety measures (mostly lack of sufficient emergency exits) are present.</p>
<p>Also, dance halls (a.k.a. nightclubs) often trigger &quot;not in my backyard&quot; (N.I.M.B.Y.) opposition from neighbors, so a license provide a means of facilitating public input on, and limiting the availability, of a use that is not popular in some locations.</p>
