SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, co-sponsor of AB2389 — the controversial "Sex Worker Permit" bill introduced Wednesday by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia and vocally criticized by most representatives of adult performers, sex workers and the adult industry — will remove her name and support from the bill, XBIZ has learned.
In an email to XBIZ's Drew Fox answering a request for clarification regarding her position on AB5, the bill Gonzalez championed that reclassified millions of California freelancers and gig workers as employees, the Assemblymember's rep including the following statement:
In regards to Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia’s legislation, Assemblywoman Gonzalez did not draft that bill and is not the author.
The idea was brought to our office by IEAU and from the description, the Assemblywoman said she generally agreed adult entertainers should have rights and know their rights.
Given that our legislative package was already determined, we could not carry the bill but out of respect for the women who were working on it, the Assemblywoman said she would show our support by signing on as a co-author.
Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia is the author and all questions should actually be directed towards her. We understand the legislation is a work-in-progress.
Nonetheless, given its current language we are going to remove our support and Assemblywoman Gonzalez’s name from the bill.
