California: Council Backs Condom Measure

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to an ordinance that would compel adult-video producers seeking city filming permits to require that their performers use condoms. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) in recent weeks qualified a city ballot initiative mandating condom use in pornography produced in the city, gathering more than 70,000 signatures -- well above the 41,000 needed.

The council could have ordered a June election on the issue, but doing so would have cost more than $4 million. Instead, lawmakers voted 11 to one to enact the ordinance, with a vote for final approval set for next week. The council also voted to convene city police and attorneys with state workplace safety officials to make recommendations regarding the ordinance and its implementation. Activists say that existing state law requiring porn actors to use protection is rarely enforced.

City attorneys had initially challenged the ballot initiative, arguing that the state, not the city, governs employee-employer relations. The suit was settled Tuesday, said William Carter, chief deputy city attorney. One settlement condition is that AHF pay up to $50,000 in legal defense costs if the ordinance is challenged. AHF is now working to qualify a ballot measure at the county level requiring condoms in porn. The industry is centered in the region's San Fernando Valley.

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