The California Assembly Health Committee has called for an interim study of a bill designed to “protect” the adult industry from itself by mandating sexually transmitted disease testing every two weeks, and making condoms and dental dams mandatory.
Kat Sunlove, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, the lobbying arm of the adult industry, said that the call for an interim study was a step in the right direction.
“This doesn’t mean we are in the clear, but it can be taken as a good sign,” Sunlove told AVN.com. “It means that they are going to examine the bill to see if it is adequate, which it is not. We'll be able to present our case to them, which is something we’ve been trying to do for quite some time.”
An interim study takes place while the Legislature is not in session. Simply put, the study is a hearing in which the merits of a bill are examined.
The bill, authored by Assemblyman Tim Leslie (R-Roseville), also sought to bar any adult performer who had tested positive for a STD from performing until a doctor declared they were no longer infected.
The ramifications of barring STD positive performers from the adult industry would take many performers out of the industry – many gay adult performers are HIV-positive and there are many performers on the straight side of the industry could be forced out because of herpes, a condition that never goes away, even though herpes is usually active for short periods of time.
The heterosexual side of the adult industry has opt-in mandatory testing for HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea every 30 days. With the exception of a few companies, condoms are not used.
While the gay adult industry does not mandate testing, they consider themselves to be safer than the straight side of the industry. Nearly all of the gay studios are condom-only, and performers take many precautions that aren't used within the straight adult industry. Performers are not allowed to ejaculate on their partner's face or in his mouth, and performers are advised not to brush their teeth for three hours preceding a scene to avoid bleeding gums.
The bill also seeks to make it easier for talent to sue production companies if they become infected with an STD while working.
The bill (AB 2798) was heard in front of the Assembly Health Committee this afternoon. Sunlove and Gil Sperlein, a lawyer representing gay adult studio Titan Media, represented the multiple concerns of the adult industry.
Mike Ross, who once lobbied for the Free Speech Coalition, spoke for the bill. Ross claimed that he had been contacted by dozens of performers who wanted the bill passed, though none were present.
Adult performer Don Hollywood was afraid that the bill would go straight to the floor for a vote.
“Because there is no expense to the state of California, it can be moved to the floor very quickly, before we could present an argument against it,” Hollywood told AVN.com yesterday.
Hollywood had been contacted by the offices of Assemblyman Tim Leslie, who went over their proposed amendments to the bill with him. They invited him to testify in front of the committee, which he declined.
Hollywood did not know why he was contacted, but assumed it was because he has received a lot of press over the years as the only lawyer who performs in sex scenes.
Nicole London of Outback Productions was also contacted by Leslie’s offices. She was asked to attend and show her support for the bill. She was told that other people within the industry had agreed to appear in front of the committee, though none did.
London was unaware of why she was pinpointed as someone who may wish to support the bill. London has been quoted in the mainstream media regarding the current HIV crisis, but as a supporter of self-regulation.
The bill defined an adult production company as a company that produced films for commercial distribution to one or more people that were “depicting the performance or simulated performance of explicitly sexual acts appropriate only for an adult viewing audience.”
The MPAA had the references to "simulated performances" removed.
Asssemblyman Leslie has no apparent relation to the adult industry and didn't even post the bill on his own Website, unlike the other bills he has authored.
