SAN DIEGO – California regulators have decided not to undertake any further rulemaking in regard to several proposals that would change protocols for porn shoots.
The decision was revealed today at the state Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board’s monthly meeting, where one board member, Dave Thomas, emphasized that the existing regulatory language continues for § 5193 of the state code of regulations in regards to occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens on film sets. Condoms are mandatory, he said.
Eric Berg, chief deputy of Cal/OSHA’s research and standards division, announced his office’s findings at the hearing.
“We have been collaborating with the petitioners, and there will be no rulemaking at this time,” said Berg, who noted that existing law under § 5193 coupled with “education and outreach” will continue.
The unexpected announcement had a silencing effect in the packed auditorium at the San Diego County Administration Center.
Later, numerous adult entertainment stakeholders addressed the board after the announcement, thanking them for listening to their voices through the years.
Speakers representing the adult entertainment industry included attorney Karen Tynan, Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Eric Paul Leue, Mia Li, FSC Director of Policy and Industry Relations Siouxsie Q, FSC Scientific and Regulatory Director Ian O’Brien, Marcello, Five Star and Tim Woodman. Kevin Bland, a lobbyist for the FSC, also spoke.
The board had been weighing two petitions from the Free Speech Coalition and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation that requested new regulatory language for § 5193.
The FSC’s Petition 560 emphasized performer control over their bodies and allows the protocols to improve by making use of scientific advancements. FSC's petition would keep current standards like the PASS system, but it would also add options, including the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and vaccines.
Meanwhile, the AHF introduced Petition 557, which is similar to an ill-fated amendment that was shot down by the Standards Board in February 2016. That amendment, if it had been approved, would have greatly expanded barrier protection for porn performers and likely would have required performers to wear goggles to avoid ocular infections and dental dams for oral sex.
Now, both proposals have been shelved.
In a statement tonight, Leue said he thought Cal/OSHA realized that "simplistic solutions and one-size-fits-all regulations do not work in an industry that is as diverse, entrepreneurial and safe as adult entertainment.”
Under the industry’s PASS protocol, adult performers are tested every 14 days for a full slate of STIs, and there has not been a transmission of HIV on a PASS-compliant adult set since 2004, he said.
Cal/OSHA is now emphasizing that adult performers and producers do not necessarily have an employee/employer relationship, which may give adult workers more freedom in how they perform their jobs, he said. Adult performers have long maintained that they are contractors, not employees, and thus deserve more flexibility and control over their bodies.
“[§ 5193] was designed for medical settings, and no one would confuse an adult set with an emergency room,” Leue said. “The decision not to write specific regulations but instead focus on the hierarchy of controls speaks to the efficacy of our current safeguards and the need for flexibility.
"Now begins the process of working with Cal/OSHA collaboratively to find effective solutions.”
Pictured: Free Speech Coalition’s Eric Paul Leue at today's hearing.
