– For the eighth year in a row, members of the adult industry walked the halls of the state legislature on Tuesday, bearding senators and assembly members in their "dens"... and finding, overwhelmingly more often than not, the welcome mat laid out for them.
Under the auspices of the Free Speech Coalition, about 20 industry members and supporters split into groups of three or four, each with a comprehensive schedule prepared by FSC Legislative Affairs Director Kat Sunlove that targeted most of the Democratic and several of the Republican lawmakers at the state capital. The teams handed out the industry's latest White Paper, citing facts and figures about the industry, and meeting with legislative staffers (and occasionally the legislator him- or herself) to talk about issues affecting the industry.
This year, however, the lobbyists actually had a bill to support: Assembly Bill 1438, the "Access To Seized Records Act," authored by members John Longville and Mervyn M. Dymally. This legislation would allow small businesses which are under criminal investigation to make copies of any records seized by authorities, thereby allowing the businesses to continue operating and serving customers even while the investigation is ongoing. Under the current law, businesses whose records are seized must petition the court for their return, and there is no guarantee that the court will honor the request – which effectively means that the business would be out of business until the investigation has run its course.
The measure is supported by the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the California Public Defenders Association and the Free Speech Coalition, and is expected to receive the support of several civil liberties groups before it is brought up for a vote before both houses later in the year.
AB 1438 was just one piece of current legislation about which the amateur lobbyists were briefed during a day-long training session which took place on Monday at the Sheraton Grande hotel in Sacramento. In all, the group discussed five bills in the Senate and Assembly which could affect the industry, including Senate Bill 12, introduced by Sen. Debra Bowen, which would create criminal penalties for any unsolicited commercial e-mails (commonly known as "spam") sent by California companies or, in fact, to any California e-mail address from anywhere. The penalties would include a $500 to $1500 fine for each unsolicited e-mailing.
Another bill, SB 900, introduced by Sen. Dean Florez, would eliminate the use of credit cards as a means of ascertaining the age of someone attempting to access adult material over the Internet, as is currently the common practice in the adult Internet industry. The bill would impose both a fine and imprisonment for anyone convicted of distributing or selling "harmful matter" to anyone under the age of 18, and the fact that the provider had obtained a credit card number from the recipient would no longer be a valid defense.
While both bills contain worthy objectives, Sunlove said that she hoped to be able to work with both Sens. Bowen and Florez to rework the bills to the point that the adult industry would be able to support them.
The lobbying group also got a special treat Monday afternoon, when a veteran legislative aide (who asked to remain nameless) spoke candidly about tactics that he felt the lobbyists could use to best put their views across to the legislators. Though some of the points were obvious – dress appropriately; be knowledgeable about the legislation under discussion; be as brief as possible – others were less so, and one particular bit of advice – that legislators are mainly interested in "revenue, revenue, revenue" – caused Sunlove to create and attach to the White Paper a cover sheet detailing the thousands of California jobs that the adult industry has created, and the millions of dollars of sales and income taxes generated by the businesses.
The aide also noted that mass e-mailings on specific topics are rarely seen by anyone other than interns in a legislator's office, and that the most effective means of communication with the lawmakers are face-to-face meetings and handwritten letters.
The aide's last piece of advice to the gathering was, "Remember, you're going into the lion's den, and it's stacked against you before you even walk in the door."
Free Speech executive director Bill Lyon also spoke briefly on how to deal with legislators, noting that in large part, "politics is the art of compromise," and that maintain a positive attitude – "We want to work with you" – was the most effective way to influence a lawmaker's views.
Monday evening, FSC hosted a reception for lawmakers and their staff at Virga's Courtyard, a popular local restaurant, which was well attended by the pols and their aides. Unfortunately, due to prior dance commitments, the lobbying group this year was short on one thing the Sacramentans wanted to see: Female adult video stars. And though Dave Cummings, Taliesin The Bard and one other male performer tried their best, somehow, the effect just wasn't the same.
By Tuesday morning, the lobbyists were well-prepared to tackle their targets, and in all, almost 100 of the 120 senators and assemblymembers had White Papers delivered to them during the course of the day, with about two-thirds of those arranging face-to-face meeting between the various lobbying teams and legislative assistants.
Unwinding at the Sheraton Grande's bar after the long day, Sunlove termed the event a success.
"The legislators now know us, accept us and even invite us to visit them," Sunlove noted. "We're having an effect on both the people and the laws they propose, and that's good for the industry."
