AB 332 Shelved in Appropriations Committee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Assembly Appropriations Committee shelved Assembly Bill 332 for the year, leaving the bill on the suspense file.

The bill will not move forward, but its authors have vowed to revive the legislation at a later date. 

AB 332 would have mandated statewide barrier protection use in adult film productions. 

The panel’s chairman, Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), said the committees' decision (regarding AB 332 as well as other costly bills) reflect “our state’s continuing fiscal constraints.”

"Passing a bill of questionable First Amendment validity that would certainly subject the state to expensive lawsuits would simply cost too much for California right now," Gatto said of AB 332. 

The FSC, an adult industry advocacy group opposed to AB 332 and Measure B, celebrated the committee's decision as a victory.

“We are grateful that lawmakers have chosen the best interest of California’s taxpayers and the adult industry over AB 332’s misguided legislation,” FSC CEO Diane Duke said. “The adult industry creates a tremendous amount of revenue and jobs for California. We have effective, successful standards in place to protect performers."

Duke called the bill “a solution without a problem” and told XBIZ that she is "thrilled" about its shelved status.

“It is encouraging to see that legislators recognize the hard work that the adult industry has done to safeguard performers and that our hard work will not be lost to an unnecessary bureaucracy created from unnecessary legislation,” Duke concluded.

Terry Schanz, the press secretary for Assemblyman Isadore Hall who introduced the bill in February, told XBIZ that AB 332 is far from dead. He added that in a two-year legislative process, there is "plenty of time" for the bill to move forward.

President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation Michael Weinstein echoed Schanz's sentiment that the bill will remain a force to be reckoned with. He mentioned that "there are still 3 months in this legislative year." 

“We are still in the early rounds of the fight for protection of porn performers," he said. "You don't win every round. We won't stop."