By Scott Glover, Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — A proposed ballot measure that would require porn actors to wear condoms while filming in the city of Los Angeles has qualified for the June ballot, according to a letter from the city clerk certifying that proponents had gathered enough valid signatures.
The initiative still faces a legal challenge by Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich. Trutanich filed court papers earlier this month saying that Los Angeles voters would have no legal authority to adopt the proposed measure even if it were placed on the ballot.
Trutanich argued that only the state — not the city — could legally impose rules requiring the use of condoms on porn sets and charging fees to pay for inspections.
The city attorney’s opinion is at odds, however, 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.
“We don’t see a bar to the city or the county doing what they need to do,” Widess said in a telephone interview Monday evening. “We believe the city can use its authority to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among people involved in the adult film industry.”
Ged Kenslea, a spokesman for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the ballot measure’s main backer, said proponents gathered more than 70,000 signatures, well beyond the 41,000 required to place it on the ballot.
“We’re thrilled we’ve passed this initial threshold,” Kenslea said. “We believe we’re going to prevail in court and look forward to taking this issue directly to the voters.”
The advocacy group has spent the last two years trying to mandate condom use in adult films.
In 2009, the group unsuccessfully sued Los Angeles County to mandate condom use in adult films.
County health officials have repeatedly rebuffed demands to force production companies to require condom use, saying that it would be difficult to regulate the industry through the Department of Public Health. The county’s public health chief has said that the issue is a matter for the California Legislature.
