Committee passes California porn condom bill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A bill that would require adult film actors to wear condoms during productions anywhere in California and to be tested regularly for sexually transmitted diseases is advancing through the Legislature.

The bill, AB1576, passed an Assembly committee Tuesday on a 4-1 vote. It’s the third attempt by Democratic Assemblyman Isadore Hall, of Compton, to expand a Los Angeles mandate approved by voters in 2012.

Public health advocates and some porn stars call the bill a basic workplace safety measure that will prevent the spread of disease.

Representatives of the adult film industry say they have their own protocols to protect performers and that Hall’s bill would hasten the industry’s flight out of California. The bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, where a similar one stalled last year.