The Free Speech Coalition issued the following statement today regarding film permit applicatons in the County of Los Angeles:
CANOGA PARK, Calif. – According to information from film permitting agency FilmLA, only 24 permits for adult film productions in Los Angeles County have been filed as of their last report in 2013. That number is down significantly from approximately 480 permits filed by this time last year and prior to last November’s passage of Measure B , L.A. County’s controversial condom mandate for adult film productions.
This means that, at an average cost of $1,000 in fees for each permit, L.A. County has lost approximately $456,000 in revenue. Added to this loss, L.A. County is also involved in a costly lawsuit challenging Measure B, which is currently on appeal. And, if the Measure B regulations were implemented, this would mean that L.A. taxpayers would be obligated to pay for a new local agency to serve as “condom inspectors” on adult production sets – an expensive proposition overall.
“We predicted that lost jobs and revenue would be one of the results of AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s (AHF) misguided attempts to police the adult industry,” said Free Speech Coalition CEO Diane Duke. “As a result of the passage of Measure B, hundreds of thousands of dollars in permit fees have gone elsewhere — and that does not take into consideration the jobs and vendor revenues that have followed the productions out of LA County and for some companies, out of the state of California entirely.”
