May 29, 2013 12:30 PM PDT    Text size: 

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council voted today to amend Ordinance No. 181989 to adopt the language and intent of Los Angeles County’s porn-condom regulation, Measure B.

Measure B mandates barrier protection for performers during the production of adult films. Ordinance No. 181989 was passed by the City Council in January 2012, just prior to the AIDS Health Foundation’s big push for Measure B.

Film permits issued to adult productions under the authority of the City of Los Angleles or the Los Angeles Police Department now must include the following language, "Permittee must abide by all applicable workplace health and safety regulations, including LAMC Section12.22, LAMC Section 31.00 and California Code of Regulations Title 8, Section 5193, which mandates barrier protection, including condoms, to shield performers from contact with blood or other potentially infectious material during the production of films."

The City Council also voted to authorize the collection of fees from permitees to fund the enforcement of the city ordinance.

The only person to publicly speak out against the amendment was Arnold Sachs, a habitual City Council gadfly.

Sachs cited an editorial from the Daily Breeze, which mentioned the current migration of porn shoots to Ventura County to avoid Measure B regulations and the resulting loss of revenue for Los Angeles County. He also noted that porn performers are subcontractors "not employed by the companies that make porn movies" and have the opportunity to reject movies they do not want to participate in.

“This nanny state that you’ve become is over the top,” Sachs concluded. “I liked it better when you were [discussing] meatless Mondays,” which the council has dicussed as a proclamation in recent months. 

The council voted unanimously in favor of the amendment.

Neither the city administrative officer nor the chief legislative analyst has completed a financial analysis of implementing the regulation and the city attorney has not yet submitted a fiscal impact statement to the mayor.  

"This is just a formal adoption of their intentions all along,” said Diane Duke, leader of the Free Speech Coalition. “Adopting the county regulations allows the city to pass along the expense of mandatory barrier protection regulations to the county."

The AHF sponsored the city and county laws, as well as Assembly Bill 332, which has stalled but is still alive at the state Legislature.