Lawmaker Aims to Tighten Health Standards on Porn Industry
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A proposed state law would tighten health requirements for adult film performers and producers, calling for earlier testing and barring anyone harboring a sexually transmittable disease.
Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, planned to introduce Assembly Bill 2798 on Tuesday. The bill would require testing within two weeks before film production and would also allow performers to sue who were infected due to a production company's failure to comply.
"There has been all these outbreaks people spreading diseases," Leslie said. "These infections can reach any of us. What we're trying to do is protect the public."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The bill will be heard Tuesday by the Assembly Health Committee. It has already attracted criticism from public health advocates and the adult film industry.
The bill is "taking a step back, medically. It's just not well thought out," said Sharon Mitchell, executive director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, which conducts STD testing for actors.
Kat Sunlove, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, a lobbying group for the pornography industry, said allowing actors to sue production companies might encourage frivolous lawsuits.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"How are you going to decide which (production company) that came from?" she asked.
Leslie said he was willing to consider modifications.