This is the Free Speech Coalition's ninth year of lobbying legislators in California's capital, and as has been the case several times, the organization once again had no particular bill to tell the pols it opposed.
"I'm happy to say there are none this year," said FSC Legislative Affairs Director Kat Sunlove, when asked about adverse legislation. "We have found that in forging this kind of communication between our industry and lawmakers that there are fewer and fewer terrible bills that come out of this house, because they have a better understanding of the industry. There was a bill earlier this year that was in play that we were concerned about, a tax bill, but that actually has been withdrawn from consideration and we feel that that's partly because of our educational efforts with that member."
The bill to which Sunlove referred, AB 1999, had been introduced by Assemblymember Alberto Torrico, representing parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties, and it would have placed a 1% tax on "harmful matter," which the legislation itself did not define, which courts likewise have been unable do successfully.
Therefore, the FSC junior lobbyists were able to give legislators a mini-vacation from the complaints and entreats of the several other lobbying groups which had also chosen April 25 to make their voices known in Sacramento. Some of those included the transport workers union, a trial lawyers group, a group of Catholic school children and at least a dozen more – plus, there were present several class trips to the capitol, all of which kept the hallways constantly crowded.
The Free Speech group this year contained a greater number of performers and former performers than usual. Present for the two-day session – one day of training and one of actual lobbying – were Wicked contract star Jessica Drake, as well as Wicked VP Joy King; Legend contract star (and former gubernatorial candidate) Mary Carey; retired performer Tiana Lynn, now on the sales staff of Elegant Angel Productions with another attendee, Cynthia Lamar; perennial favorites Nina Hartley and Dave Cummings; and retired performer Taliesin.
Several Free Speech board members were also among the group, including board chair Jeffrey Douglas; Adult Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) executive director Joan Irvine; AVN Senior Editor Mark Kernes, and FSC executive director Michelle Freridge.
"The Free Speech Coalition is the trade association of the adult entertainment industry," Freridge explained to the reporters present at the FSC press conference which opened the day's proceedings. "We represent more than 3,500 members, and the adult entertainment industry provides more than a quarter million jobs for Californians, generates more than $32 million in taxes in California, and was a multi-billion dollar industry across the country in 2005."
At the press conference's conclusion, several of the stars spoke individually to reporters. Mary Carey chatted amiable about her political ambitions – she has said that she would like to run for governor again, but by the end of the day, had been convinced that it would be more prudent to try first for a state assembly seat – and Jessica Drake spoke of her contributions to the lobbying effort.
"I'm new to the Free Speech Coalition," Drake said, "and this is my first year attending the Celebrate Free Speech Lobbying Days event here in Sacramento. As talent, I feel that I am on the front lines of many of the issues that face the adult industry, and that I'm qualified to speak about them with our legislators. I find that doing this event is rewarding both for us because it allows us the chance to speak in a public forum about very serious concerns, and for our assemblymen because it helps them make a human connection with the performers in our industry."
Also on board, besides lobbying days regular Dr. David Hall, a professor at University of the Pacific, was sex therapist/author Dr. Marty Klein, whose book "The War On Sex" will be published in October. Half a dozen attorneys were also in the group, which totaled about 30 people.
Sunlove, who is responsible for the lobbying days arrangements, created eight "teams," most of three members each including a team leader, and each team was detailed to visit at least nine legislative offices for pre-arranged appointments with either legislators or a member of their staffs. Without legislation to oppose, the Free Speech members were greeted with relief, and each team confabbed with each legislator or staffer for anywhere from five to 45 minutes discussing issues of importance to the adult industry and asking for the legislator's support.
Some of the issues discussed included the attempts to create a .xxx top-level domain for the Internet; the federal tax on adult products and services bill; and FSC's lawsuits against the recordkeeping and labeling law and its regulations, as well as the Utah law limiting e-mails to children.
"We would encourage legislators to consider a .kids [top-level domain]," Sunlove told reporters, "so we are much like a public park, able to filter in what we want as parents rather than try to filter out, because so much of the product that is objectionable comes from overseas, so anything this government might do will not affect what's actually available on the Internet."
The teams also handed out copies of the 2006 "State of the Industry Report," the streamlined successor to the "White Paper" which had been given out in previous years. The industry report concentrated on the industry's benefits to California, citing the number of jobs provided by various segments of the industry – video production, cabarets and the Web – the salaries paid to those workers, the income derived from product sales and services, and the taxes paid to the state by workers and companies. Accompanying the report was a single page of "bullet points" summarizing the main aspects of the report.
The reports were also delivered to most of the legislators with whom Sunlove had been unable to make appointments, so nearly every member of the state assembly and senate received a copy.
Sunlove had also set up a "meet and greet" get-together for legislators and their staffs at the restaurant/bar Chops, directly across from the capitol, on the site of the former Brennan's restaurant. The event took place on Monday evening, and was very well attended, with legislative staffs chatting informally with the lobbyists, eating hors d'oeuvres, quaffing alcohol and sodas, and listening to the Dixieland band which Sunlove had hired for the occasion.
The lobbying itself lasted from 10 a.m. until after 4 p.m., with only a short break for lunch, and by day's end, everyone was exhausted – so they retired to the Sheraton Grand Hotel near the capitol for an "after-party" of drinks and snacks before most caught flights back to Los Angeles.
