SACRAMENTO — Assembly Bill 1576, which would mandate barrier protection for all porn productions shot in California, was further refined and amended this week.
On Wednesday, the Assembly’s Committee on Labor and Employment will weigh the amended bill.
This is the third time that Calif. Assemblyman Isadore Hall has attempted to push through mandatory barrier protection; last year, he sponsored two pieces of legislation in unsuccessful bids to mandate condom use in the adult production industry.
All of Hall's bill that seek regulatory intervention in the industry have been denounced by adult entertainment trade group Free Speech Coalition and a majority of stakeholders in the industry, particularly since there have been no onset transmission of HIV, nationwide, in 10 years.
The first two bills were primarily shot down because of fiscal concerns. The latest incarnation, which would make testing mandatory 14 days before performers work on the set, addresses those concerns and adds stipulations for training and workers comp review. It also would add a criminal prosecution element.
“This bill would additionally require an adult film employer’ s injury prevention program to include a log of information for all scenes produced or purchased, including, but not limited to, documentation that each time an employee performing in an adult film engaged in vaginal or anal intercourse, personal protective equipment was used to protect the employee from exposure to bloodborne pathogens and each employee performing in an adult film was tested for sexually transmitted infections according to specified recommendations not more than 14 days prior to filming any scene in which the employee engaged in vaginal or anal intercourse and that the employer paid for the test. Because a violation of the act would be a crime under certain circumstances, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating a new crime," the amended bill said.
If successful on Wednesday, the bill would move on again to another legislative panel. Pending approval by the full Assembly, the bill will be referred to the Senate and go through a similar policy and fiscal review process before a final vote. If approved by both wings of Legislature, the bill would go to the governor's desk for his veto or signature.
