November 26, 2013 | The Biz

LA County losing money because of condom law

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has concluded that the new condom law in L.A. County, requiring all XXX productions to film sex scenes using prophylactics, has resulted in a loss of $456,000 in film-permit revenue.  

The FSC pointed out that between January and mid-September FilmLA issued only 24 permits for adult productions. During the same period in 2012, it issued 480. With the average permit costing $1,000, that's a lot of money no longer landing in county coffers.

FSC Chief Executive Officer Diane Duke said that the Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act is to blame.

“[The FSC] predicted that lost jobs and revenue would be one of the results of AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s misguided attempts to police the adult industry,” Duke said. “As a result of the passage of Measure B, hundreds of thousands of dollars in permit fees have gone elsewhere, and that does not take into consideration the jobs and vendor revenues that have followed the productions out of L.A. County, and for some companies, out of the state of California entirely.”

Also costing the county money is a lawsuit against the safer sex legislation. Back in August, a U.S. District Judge threw out portions of the law as unconstitutional. The plaintiffs in the case are now asking a higher court to throw out the entire law on constitutional grounds.

The law, which won support from the community as a ballot measure in 2012, was promoted by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. AHF said the law is needed to protect adult film workers, as well as the general population, from the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

'Condoms In Porn' Law Is Making Los Angeles Lose A Ton Of Money [Business Insider]

Los Angeles County condom law leads to steep drop in porn film permits [New York Daily News]