California lawmaker revives condom bill for porn actors

Encouraged by a new court decision, Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (D-Compton) has revived his proposal to require adult film performers in California to wear condoms when engaging in risky sexual behavior on the set.

The new proposal, which was inserted Tuesday into a gutted bill on tobacco use, follows a federal judge’s decision upholding the constitutionality of Los Angeles County’s Measure B, which requires condoms in adult films.

A similar bill by Hall was shelved earlier this year after the adult film industry argued it would hurt business and was unnecessary because of an existing testing program.

But the assemblyman said there has been new information, including the court decision and news reports that an adult film actor has tested positive for HIV.

“The adult film industry’s voluntary-testing-only policy has failed,” Hall said in a statement Tuesday. “The fact is a testing-only policy is as effective at preventing the spread of STDs as a pregnancy test is at preventing pregnancy.”

He noted that employees in agriculture, food service, healthcare, construction and other industries are protected by stringent workplace safety rules.

The use of condoms by adult film actors would protect them from a wide range of sexually transmitted diseases, including chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.

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patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com