AHF: With 3 votes, California’s Condoms in porn bill (AB 1576) clears Senate Labor Committee

In News by AHF

Assembly Bill 1576, Isadore Hall’s bill to require condoms in all adult films made in California, cleared the Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee today; bill now moves on to Senate Appropriations.

SACRAMENTO (June 25, 2014) California Assembly Bill 1576, a landmark bill that clarifies and strengthens state worker safety laws requiring condoms in all adult films made statewide in California, cleared the state Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee earlier today in a 3 to 1 to 1 vote and will now move on to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III (D-Los Angeles) from California’s 64th Assembly District, authored the bill, which he introduced in mid-February.

Senate Labor Committee members Ben Hueso (D, San Diego, 40th District, Chair), Holly Mitchell (D, Los Angeles, 26th District) and Alex Padilla (D, Pacoima, 20th District) voted in support of the bill with Mark Leno (D, San Francisco, 11th District) voting against the bill, and Mark Wyland (R, Carlsbad, 38th District, Vice Chair) abstaining.

“Today, the Members of the Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee overwhelmingly saw beyond the adult film industry’s flaccid misinformation campaign and took decisive action to protect these actors in the workplace,” said Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III in a statement. “I want to thank the many actors that testified in support of AB 1576, especially Ms. Sofia Delgado, who courageously came forward today to announce that she was the third of five adult film actors to have contracted HIV in 2013.  She, along with former actors Cameron Bay, Rod Daily and others have shown an incredible amount of character to be able to share their very personal challenges in hopes of saving the lives of others.”

Hall later added, “The adult film industry is a legitimate, legal business. It is time for the industry to stop deceiving the public and start acting like every other legitimate legal business in California. Legitimate businesses follow the law. Legitimate businesses protect their employees from injury and harm in the workplace. The State of California has a responsibility is to protect all of its workers from injury and harm in the workplace.  The Senate’s actions today reaffirm that commitment and we look forward to bringing this measure to the full Senate for consideration in the coming weeks.”

“AB 1576 expands and broadens worker protections for all California’s adult film workers on a statewide basis. Assemblymember Hall has shown the courage and vision to recognize that all workers in this industry are entitled to the same safeguards and worker protections that any employee in California would be,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “We thank the Senate Labor Committee for passing this bill and will now press the Senate Appropriations Committee to act swiftly and favorably on the bill.”

“AB 1576 does what only this Legislature can do: give clear direction to CalOSHA to settle definitions surrounding worker safety measures on adult film set workplaces throughout California,” said Whitney Engeran-Cordova, Senior Director of Public Health for AHF. “This is common sense.  This is good public policy. And it protects California workers simply trying to do their jobs.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the sponsor of Hall’s legislation, successfully spearheaded Ballot Measure B, the County of Los Angeles Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act,’—more informally known as the ‘condoms in porn’ measure, which Los Angeles County voters approved by a 57% to 43% margin in the November 2012 election.  Measure B requires producers of adult films to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and pay a permit fee sufficient for necessary enforcement and follow all health and safety laws, including condom use by performers. AB 1576 will expand upon the workplace protections now required in Los Angeles County to protect all adult film actors throughout the state of California.

Hall’s legislation will provide statewide uniformity needed to ensure that the thousands of actors employed in this multi-billion dollar industry are given reasonable workplace safety protections needed to reduce exposure to HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

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