SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Legislation by Calif. Assemblymember Isadore Hall, III (D – Los Angeles) to require documentation of condom or other personal protective equipment use in California produced adult films and mandatory employer paid STD testing of adult film actors was approved today by the California State Senate Labor & Industrial Relations Committee. AB 1576 passed on a vote of 3 to 1.
After the hearing, Hall released the following statement:
“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.
I want to thank the many actors that testified in support of AB 1576, especially Ms. Sophia 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.
My office has and will continue to listen to members of the industry and the public on this important issue. It is unfortunate that in the various meetings that the industry has had with my office, the industry has never offered a single reasonable suggestion to universally protect its workers and now opposes the very STD testing protocol that they developed and inconsistently use. That is not showing leadership, it shows the Legislature and the public that the industry is more concerned with increasing their profits than protecting its workers.
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 now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further action.
Isadore Hall, III, represents California’s 64th Assembly District that includes the communities of Carson, Compton, Gardena, Harbor Gateway, Lynwood,
North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, South Los Angeles, Torrance, Watts/Willowbrook and Wilmington in Los Angeles County.
