Breaking: AHF-Condoms in Porn Initiative Clears Important Threshold for 2016 California Statewide Ballot

Issued today by AIDS Healthcare Foundation —

New statewide voter ballot initiative will require condom use in all adult films shot anywhere in California. Since April 1st, backers have collected over 91K signatures for measure, which is modeled on LA County’s Measure B—which voters overwhelmingly passed 57% to 43% in November 2012.

Initiative is also first to trigger provision of new California legislation (SB 1253, Steinberg, D-Sacramento) that compels hearings in Sacramento once backers collect 25% of signatures needed, forcing joint committee hearings to be held no later than 131 days before the election.

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Backers of a statewide ballot measure to improve adult film worker safety that will strengthen and clarify requirements regarding condom use in all adult films shot anywhere in California are pleased to announce they have reached a significant threshold in their campaign: they have collected over 25% of the voter signatures needed to qualify the measure, which they expect to appear on California’s November 2016 presidential election ballot.

The 25% signature threshold—once voter signatures are verified—also means backers of the initiative (including individuals affiliated with AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the group FAIR—For Adult Industry Responsibility) will be the first to trigger a provision of recent California legislation (SB 1253, Steinberg, D-Sacramento) that compels joint legislative committee hearings in Sacramento on an initiative once backers have collected 25% of valid voter signatures needed to qualify a measure.

Since April 1st, backers of the initiative have collected over 91,470 signatures from registered voters throughout California, one-quarter of the 365,880 signatures needed to qualify a ballot measure. And although backers of “The California Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act” were the fourth group of citizen ballot petitioners to formally register their ballot measure (Initiative # 2015-004) for signature gathering, the group appears to be the first to have gathered enough signatures to trigger the 25% threshold and prompt hearings in Sacramento on the measure under provisions of SB 1253, which took effect in July 2014.

“All throughout California, petitioners collecting voter signatures for the California Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act are being met with an enthusiastic response by voters who grasp that this is a straightforward issue of basic workplace safety, and they see the need to protect fellow Californians who happen to work in the adult industry,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Initial polling of 1,158 California voters that the group conducted on its statewide California measure in mid-September 2014 showed overwhelming support for the proposed law—71% answered ‘yes’ when asked how they would vote on such a measure were the election held today.

The statewide ballot measure is modeled on Los Angeles County’s Measure B—which voters overwhelmingly passed 57% to 43% in 2012. (Margin of victory for Measure B: 1,617,866 votes in favor [56.94%] vs. 1,222,681 votes against [43.04%]). However, two years later, the County of Los Angeles has yet to fully implement Measure B, and a group of adult film producers has sued the County to stop implementation of the measure, actions that served in part as a catalyst for the current statewide ballot measure.

According to the League of California Cities, ““Under SB 1253, once a proposed measure garners 25 percent of the required number of signatures for qualification, the Secretary of State (SOS) will send the proposal to the Legislature to begin the committee hearing process. Similar to the previous system, the Legislature is still required to hold joint committee hearings on the measure. However, the Legislature must now hold these hearings no later than 131 days prior to the date of the election the measure is set to be voted on. This change no longer allows the Legislature to wait until right before an election to hold a hearing — possibly giving measure proponents/opponents more time to sway public opinion based on the outcome of the legislative hearings.