FSC: AB2389 Would Place “Huge, Discriminatory Burdens” On Performers

In a statement published Wednesday, the Free Speech Coalition criticized AB2389, a bill introduced in the California State Assembly this week, saying the bill “places huge, discriminatory burdens on adult performers in the name of protecting them.”

Among other things, the bill, which was introduced Tuesday by Democrats Cristina Garcia and Lorena Gonzalez, would “prohibit adult entertainers or performers from working at an adult entertainment business or working in an adult entertainment video unless they have a valid business license” and require adult performers to be fingerprinted as part of completing the training required under the bill.

“It’s patronizing and ignorant of the fights already waged by adult workers on issues like harassment, workplace safety, and privacy protection,” said FSC Executive Director Michelle L. LeBlanc. “It’s unclear why someone hoping to help adult performers would draft a bill as disrespectful as this.”

In its statement, the FSC noted that under AB2389, “every adult performer — including cam and clip models — would be required to pay for a permit or business license before working in California, as well as submit to a background check and fingerprinting before they would be allowed to work.”

“Each performer would be required to undergo mandatory, in-person workplace safety training, at their own expense, every two years, and comply with the AB5 contractor law, regardless of the specifics of their work or income,” the FSC added in its statement.

AB2389 would also mandate “the Department of Industrial Relations develop safety protocols and training in conjunction with performers, doctors, and therapists — something the Free Speech Coalition and various performers are already working toward with Cal/OSHA,” the FSC added.

LeBlanc said the FSC is “not against regulations or laws that support and protect adult performers, but this isn’t one of them.”

“You’ve heard us say this before: ‘Nothing about us without us.’,” LeBlanc said, invoking a common refrain among a wide variety of groups subject to regulations which have been crafted without input from those affected by and subject to those regulations. “We were not invited to participate in the drafting of this bill. As a result, we have a bill that treats performers like criminals, and performers should be outraged.”

The full FSC statement can be read on the trade association’s website. The full text of AB2389 is available here.