Today news hit that anyone filming Anyone filming adult content in Los Angeles is now required to pay a $1672 health permit fee. They will also be charging you a fee of $65 every time they raid visit a set to ensure condoms are being used. The fee of $1671 is biennial and it must be renewed every other year, at a rate of $900.
The city of Houston, Texas has a permit fee like this and has had for years. It’s called the Sexually Oriented Business license and requires anyone who operates an adult oriented business of any kind within the city limits to get this special permit. Houston’s SOB fees are pretty hefty.
Basically, it’s about $2,200 (renewable every year at a rate of $1,118.23) for the company themselves while the performers and/or managers of an adult establishment must pay $279.55 (every two years). The city of Houston didn’t have the money to inspect all of these adult businesses, so they created a fee for that too. Yep, you pay $111.82 to be inspected every year to make sure you are paying your SOB permit. But it doesn’t end there. They also realized they couldn’t afford to hire the clerical staff required to process these permits so they now also charge every person getting any of these permits an admin fee of $27.95, to cover the cost of the person it takes to handle your permits.
While this permit in Houston is aimed at strip clubs and adult stores, it technically counts for any company and/or person wishing to operate a sexually oriented business of any kind within the city limits and yes that could mean the guy filming homemade sex tapes or the girl webcamming from her college dorm room.
LA County is now following in Houston’s footsteps. They created a law (the condom law) that they couldn’t afford to enforce so they created a permit fee, calling it a “health permit fee”, which will cover the cost of the condom police.
This all comes from the pass of the “County of Los Angeles Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act”. This was a law that passed 5 years ago. In case you forgot the specifics they are ….
- The measure requires producers of adult films to obtain a public health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (“the Department”) and pay a permit fee set by the Department in an amount sufficient for necessary enforcement.
- The measure provides for a permitting process that requires application submission and proof of completion of a blood borne pathogen training course, after which a permit shall be issued. The measure also requires submission of an exposure control plan.
- The measure requires the use of condoms for all acts of anal or vaginal sex during the production of adult films, as well as the posting of the public health permit and notice to performers regarding condom use.
- The measure authorizes the Department to enforce the provisions of the ordinance, including suspending or revoking the public health permit for violating the ordinance, or any other law, following notice and an opportunity for an administrative review. Prior notice would not be required if any immediate danger to the public and safety is found or reasonably suspected. Violation of the ordinance would be subject to civil fines and/or criminal misdemeanor charges.
The scary part is, this bill covers anyone in LA County – not just the big boys. This means porn stars and webcam performers as well. If you produce adult content, you are required by law to permit up if you want to produce adult content of any kind including live webcam shows, private skype shows, even solo videos for your websites. Adult content of ANY kind – means “any kind” and it applies equally to any person who produces it.
Think how many times in the last two years alone they have raided Trinity St. Clair’s house.
Had this portion of the law been in effect during those set raids, the producers would have each faced a fine of $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail for not having their health permit. Those are in addition to the other fines they received for the other violations including not having a proper location permit, not using condoms, etc. In some cases, those violations can go be anywhere between $10,000 and reach as high as $100,000.
What worries me most about all of this is how easy it will be for enemies now to get revenge on porn stars. If they see a girl snapchatting, they could report her and get her fined, $1000 and she will also face up to 6 months in jail.
3 Responses
Didn’t we overthrow the British for overtaxing people to death? Its getting way out of control now.
Whatever porn industry filming was still being done in LA County is now going bye bye. Ventura County is so close to the SFV and even Orange County isn’t that far. I guess LA’s loss is Ventura’s and Orange’s gain.