Ballot Measure Requiring Condoms in Adult Films Qualifies for June Vote

A proposed ballot measure that would require adult film actors to wear condoms while filming in Chatsworth and elsewhere in Los Angeles has qualified for the June ballot, it was reported Tuesday.

A letter from the city clerk certifies that proponents have gathered enough valid signatures, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has spent the last two years trying to mandate condom use in adult films, has submitted more than 70,000 signatures in support of the initiative, which would require the city to enforce state workplace laws requiring adult film performers to wear condoms. Only 41,000 were needed to place the initiative on the ballot.

But the initiative still faces a legal challenge by Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who filed court papers earlier this month saying Los Angeles voters would have no legal authority to adopt the proposed measure even if it were placed on the ballot. He argued that only the state could legally impose rules requiring the use of condoms on adult film sets.

The City Attorney's Office will present a judge with a request for an expedited ruling schedule Thursday and hopes to have an opinion by late January.

But the city attorney's opinion is at odds with that of the head of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which regulates workplace safety.

In a Dec. 23 email to one of Trutanich's deputy city attorneys, Ellen Widess wrote that she believes the city could legally enact the restrictions envisioned in the proposed ballot measure, the Times reported.

"We don't see a bar to the city or the county doing what they need to do," she added in a telephone interview with the Times. "We believe the city can use its authority to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among people involved in the adult film industry."

-- City News Service