FSC Meets With L.A. City Administrator to Discuss Condom Ordinance

CANOGA PARK, Calif. – Free Speech Coalition (FSC) Executive Director Diane Duke and FSC Board Chair Jeffrey Douglas met today with Los Angeles City Administrator Miguel Santana and his staff to discuss the recently enacted condom ordinance for adult industry productions.

Duke and Douglas listened to the City Administrator's thoughts on the ordinance in general and the complications inherent in its implementation and enforcement specifically.  FSC discussed constitutional issues raised by the ordinance and voiced concern over the potential for government overreach in its enforcement.

According to Duke, the meeting was very successful.

“We appreciate the opportunity to meet with the City Administrator, to communicate the industry’s concerns, and to receive information and clarification about the City's options for moving forward,” she said.

In January, the condom ordinance for adult industry productions was signed into law by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and went into effect on March 5. Th e L.A. City Council directed the City Administrator's Office (CAO) to organize the Adult Film Industry Working Group as the entity responsible for creating an implementation structure for the condom ordinance.  According to CAO staff, the next meeting of that working group will be Friday, May11th.

In related news, Duke also has started a three-part series explaining the details of the mandatory condom regulations in California, the first of which focuses on the LA condom ordinance and can be viewed at the FSC Blog.

Condom Ordinance Update – Part One

This is the first of a three-part series designed to clarify the mandatory condom regulation activity in the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County and the state of California. The purpose of this series is to provide up-to-date information to FSC Members and the industry at large: information on the status of current regulations, anticipated regulatory activity, and FSC plans for opposition.

What is the Status of the LA City Mandatory Condom Ordinance for Adult Productions?

Early in 2011, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) brought the issue before the Los Angeles City Council. The council voted down the proposed regulation because the City Attorney deemed that it was a state issue and that the city had no jurisdiction. On July 20, 2011, in an unprecedented act, CalOSHA sent a letter to the city of Los Angeles stating that the city does have jurisdiction because the city “does not seek to enact an occupational health and safety standard but rather a public health standard applicable to any film activity (regardless of employment relationship) within the city boundaries”.

On Thursday December 1, 2011, AHF submitted 70,000 signatures to the Los Angeles City Clerk’s office to put an initiative on the June ballot that would tie the provision of film permits with a regulation mandating condoms on adult production sites. It is estimated that AHF spent at least $350,000 for paid signature gatherers to get the initiative on the ballot.

Late December of 2011, the Los Angeles City Attorney filed suit against AHF arguing that putting the proposed initiative on the ballot would be too costly for the City--$4.4 million. Furthermore, the City Attorney argued that the initiative would be a waste of taxpayer funds because the jurisdiction rests at the state level and that the initiative is likely unconstitutional.

On January 10, 2012, the LA City Council chose to bypass the ballot and passed a city ordinance that ties the provision of film permits with the mandatory use of condoms on adult production sites. To clarify the contents of the ordinance, the ordinance applies to offsite shoots; shoots in sound stage do not fall under this regulation. There are no “adult” film permits, only film permits that include nudity. Film LA—the entity that grants permits—reports that it grants approximately 40 permits for shoots that contain nudity per month and many of those are permits for mainstream productions.

On Monday January 23, 2012, LA Mayor Villaraigosa signed the ordinance into law. The law went “into effect” March 5th. The City Administrator’s Office (CAO) has been tasked with developing a process for implementation.

The CAO has held two work group meetings gathering information from the Fire and Police departments as well as FILM LA. All of these entities reported that they do not have a structure set up that is conducive for this type of regulatory monitoring and enforcement. Moreover, FILM LA, FSC Board Chair Jeffrey Douglas and industry attorney Michael Fattorosi pointed out a number of Constitutional concerns with content-based enforcement.

At the last work group meeting, the City Administrator said that they will have another meeting of the work group prior to the May 16th City Council meeting where the CAO is supposed to report the results of the work group. As of this writing, no meeting of the work group is scheduled. Realistically, no prosecutions can take place until the City has developed a clear plan for implementation and a means of enforcement.

FSC will be at the upcoming meetings, speaking up for the industry. Additionally, FSC will continue to monitor the situation and update the industry as developments take place.

Stay tuned for part two where we will discuss the proposed LA County ordinance.

 

FSC Responds to DOJ Call for Comments on 2257

CANOGA PARK, Calif. – Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has responded to a call by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for comments on 2257. A letter was sent to the DOJ on Tuesday in order to be ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for comments.

The action follows last week’s victory in the Third Circuit court of appeals, of the most recent 2257 lawsuit filed by FSC and 13 other plaintiffs. Last Monday, FSC received news that the court ruled to reverse the dismissal of the case, allowing the suit to continue in district court.

“Of course we hope that our comments and the comments of others will be taken in to consideration, but history suggests otherwise,” said FSC Executive Director Diane Duke. “That is why FSC was compelled to file suit against the Federal Government on the issue of 2257 and 2257A. Hopefully our recent win will bring us closer to resolution. Special thanks to Reed Lee, Lorraine Baumgardner, Michael Murray and Jeffrey Douglas for their excellent work in drafting our statement."

The letter details objections to the burdens placed on primary and secondary producers by 2257 and 2257a regulations, which govern age verification record-keeping for adult content producers.

FSC has opposed 2257 regulations since 2005, when the regulations were enacted, and continues to voice opposition on behalf of adult industry producers. Attorneys J. Michael Murray and Lorraine Baumgardner represent FSC and other plaintiffs in the current case filed against the DOJ. The suit, if successful, would strike down the current regulations, which place considerable burdens on producers to be in compliance, and which also presents a danger to the privacy rights of adult performers.

 2257 Decision Reversed on Appeal in Third Circuit

CANOGA PARK, Calif. – Free Speech Coalition (FSC) received news this morning that it won the appeal to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, overturning an earlier District Court decision to dismiss the suit challenging the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 2257 and 2257a. This allows the lawsuit to continue in the District Court.

The suit was originally filed by FSC and 14 other plaintiffs.

This decision represents a significant victory for FSC, the other plaintiffs and their attorneys, in opposing the regulations governing age verification record-keeping for adult producers and adult performers.

“FSC would like to thank our attorneys Mike Murray and Lorraine Baumgardner for their incredible work on this case thus far,” FSC Executive Director Diane Duke. “This decision is critical in three ways - it was unanimous, it supports the arguments that FSC has made all along and it supports the 4th amendment question included in our most recent challenge to 2257. This is a very important next step in our work to eliminate the burden from the adult industry of this onerous regulation.”

Attorneys Murray and Baumgardner represented FSC and the other plaintiffs in the suit, which challenged 2257 and 2257a on grounds that the regulations violate the First Amendment rights of adult producers and threaten the privacy rights of adult performers. 

“We are thrilled today with the victory today, in the Third Circuit, reversing the District Court’s decision dismissing constitutional challenges to 2257 and 2257a,” said Murray. “We’re excited the Third Circuit agreed the First and Fourth Amendment claims are worthy and we’re looking forward to returning to District Court, where we’ll be in a position to put on evidence to demonstrate the constitutional infirmities of this burdensome statutory scheme.

“This represents a great victory for free speech rights and rights of privacy under the Fourth Amendment,” Murray added.

FSC has challenged 2257 regulations on behalf of the adult industry since 2005, when the regulations first came into effect.