Porn production plummets 90% in Los Angeles in the wake of mandate requiring performers to wear condoms

• Permits for adult productions dropped 90 per cent in the year after Measure B passed, requiring condom use
• Only 20 permits have been issued in 2014
• Bill to make the measure statewide making its way through state Senate
  
• Production companies claim the regulation causes chaffing and discomfort and that consumers refuse to buy products featuring condoms

By Mail online Reporter

Published: 09:32 EDT, 6 August 2014 | Updated: 11:59 EDT, 6 August 2014

Ever since California voters backed a measure requiring adult entertainment performers to wear condoms on sets in Los Angeles County, permits for porn production have plummeted.

The Los Angeles Times reports that 40 permits for adult productions were issued across the city and county last year, a 90 per cent drop from 2012 when the measure was passed.

The law, called Measure B, was pushed by HIV/AIDS activists arguing it would prevent disease outbreaks.

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The Los Angeles Times reports that 40 permits for adult productions were issued across the city and county last year, a 90 per cent drop from 2012 when the measure was passed

The industry argued that mandatory performer testing was already effective and that consumers did not want to purchase pornography that featured condoms.

Performers have also contended that condoms can cause rashes and discomfort over long shoots.

Only 20 permits have been issued so far this year as of July. 

Paul Audley, President of FilmL.A. Inc., says the new laws affect far more than just performers.

'It is a cause for concern that people who are manning the cameras, lights and other things on those sets are not working anymore,' he said. ' It’s not helpful to have another segment of the industry leave the region.'

Filmmakers note that those crew members put millions of dollars into the local economy as residents.

Porn crews are mostly traveling to Nevada, Southern California, Florida, and Eastern Europe.

Most porn productions have traveled to Southern California, Nevada, or Florida

And outside cities and states are already drastically affecting production for more mainstream fare as they offer tax breaks and rebates.

'We’re not shooting in L.A. anymore and, if this goes through, I don’t think you will have any production in the county of Los Angeles,' Steven Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment, told reporters.  'We’d like to stay here. This is our home, where we’ve produced for the last 30 years. But if we’re forced to move, we will.'

AB 1576, a bill that would mandate the expansion of the law statewide is on its way to a state Senate committee next week.

A lawsuit challenging Measure B should be in federal appeals court by the year's end. 

'There is no question people are filming without permits,' Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation told reporters. 'We’re not against porn, we're not trying to drive them out of business. We want to protect the performer and we want them to be a safe industry like any other industry.'