BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1319|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1319
Author: Krekorian (D)
Amended: 8/27/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 4-1, 6/23/09
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Florez, Leno
NOES: Walters
SENATE LABOR & INDUST. RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 4-1, 7/8/09
AYES: DeSaulnier, Wyland, Ducheny, Leno
NOES: Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 58-21, 6/1/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Talent services
SOURCE : Better Business Bureau
Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney
Screen Actors Guild
DIGEST : This bill prohibits advancefee talent services
and revises provisions of existing law on fee-related
talent services.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/27/09 amend the definition of
"fee" and "advance-fee talent representation service," and
CONTINUED
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make clarifications in several other definitions in the
bill.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides for the regulation and
licensure of talent agencies, specifically defining talent
agency as a person or corporation who engages in the
occupation of procuring, offering, promising, or attempting
to procure employment or engagements for an artist or
artists, including career advice and development. Talent
agencies involved with the music industry are exempted.
Existing law defines "advance-fee talent services" as
someone who does any of the following services:
1. Procuring or attempting to procure employment or an
engagement as an artist.
2. Procuring or attempting to procure an audition for an
artist.
3. Managing or directing the development of an artist's
career.
4. Procuring or attempting to procure a talent agent or
talent manager, including an associate, representative
or designee thereof.
Existing law also contains special requirements for
individuals who provide advance-fee talent services, and
requires specific contract language to distinguish
advance-fee talent services from talent agencies.
This bill repeals in its entirety the Labor Code chapter
that addresses advance-fee talent services, and:
1. Prohibits a person from owning, acting in the capacity
of, advertising for or soliciting for, or knowingly
referring any person to an "advance-fee talent
representation service" as defined above. This also
includes a person that charges an artist a fee for any
other product or service in order for the artist to
obtain, from or through the person, any of the services
listed above.
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A. Defines "advance-fee talent representation
service" as a person who provides or offers to
provide, or advertises or represents itself as
providing, an artist, directly or by referral to
another person, with one or more of the following
services described below, provided that the person
charges or receives a fee from or on behalf of an
artist for photographs, Internet Web sites, or other
reproductions or other promotional materials as an
artist; lessons, coaching, seminars, workshops, or
similar training fro an artist; or for one or more of
the following specified services. "Advance-fee
talent representation service" also means a person
who charges or receives a fee from, or on behalf of,
an artist for any product or service required for the
artist to obtain, from or through the person, any of
the services set forth in this bill.
2. Creates four distinct Fee Related Talent Services:
talent counseling, talent listing, talent training, and
talent scout.
A. Defines a "talent counseling service" as a person
who is not otherwise any artist's talent manager and
who, for a fee, provides or offers to provide, or
advertises or represents itself as providing, that
artist, directly or by referral to another person,
with career counseling, career consulting, vocational
guidance, aptitude testing, career evaluation, or
career planning as an artist.
B. Defines a "talent listing service" as a person
who, for a fee, provides or offers to provide, or
advertises or represents itself as providing, an
artist, directly or by referral to another person,
with any of the following:
(1) A list of one or more auditions or
employment opportunities.
(2) A list of one or more talent agents or
talent managers, including an associate,
representative, or designee thereof.
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(3) A search, or providing the artist with the
ability to perform a self-directed search, of any
database for an audition or employment
opportunity, or a database of talent agents or
talent managers, or an associate, representative,
or designee thereof.
(4) Storage or maintenance of any of the
following for distribution or disclosure to a
talent agent, talent manager, or an associate,
representative, or designee thereof, or to a
person represented as offering an audition or
employment opportunity: the artist's name,
photograph, Internet Web site, filmstrip,
videotape, audition tape, demonstration reel,
resume, portfolio, or other reproduction or
promotional material of the artist, or an artist's
schedule of availability for an audition or
employment opportunity.
C. Defines a "talent training service" as a person
who, for a fee, provides or offers to provide, or
advertises or represents itself as providing, an
artist, directly or by referral to another person,
with lessons, coaching, seminars, workshops or
similar training as an artist.
D. Defines a "talent scout" as an individual
employed, appointed, or authorized by a talent
service, who solicits or attempts to solicit an
artist for the purpose of becoming a client of the
service.
E. Establishes a definition for fee-related "talent
services" as either a "talent counseling service," a
"talent listing service," or a "talent training
service."
This bill also:
1. Exempts from the requirements of this bill the following
organizations:
A. A public educational institution.
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B. A nonprofit corporation, as defined.
C. A labor organization.
D. A newspaper, bona fide newsletter, magazine, trade
or professional journal, or other publication of
general circulation, whether in print or on the
Internet, that has as its main purpose the
dissemination of news, reports, trade or professional
information.
E. A public institution.
2. Prohibits a "talent service," its directors, officer,
agents, and employees from engaging in a number of
specified activities, including false advertisement,
charge certain additional fees, and referring an artist
to a service where the directors, officer, agents, and
employees have either a direct or indirect financial
interest.
3. Prohibits a "talent training service" and a "talent
counseling service," and its officers, directors,
agents, and employees from operating or having a direct
or indirect financial interest in a talent listing
service.
4. Provides that a "talent listing service," and its
officers, directors, agents, and employees shall not do
either of the following:
A. Own, operate, or have a direct or indirect
financial interest in a "talent training service" or
a "talent counseling service".
B. Provide a listing of an audition, job, or
employment opportunity without written permission for
the listing. A talent listing service would have to
keep and maintain a copy of all original listings;
the name, business address, and business telephone
number of the person granting permission to the
talent listing service to use the listing; and the
date the permission was granted.
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5. Revises requirements related to language and other
provisions for contracts between artists and talent
services.
6. Prohibits a contract for fee-related talent services
from having a term of more than one year and being
automatically renewed, as well as amend procedures
related to the cancellation of contracts and refunds.
7. Revises and expands existing recordkeeping requirements,
including:
A. The name and address of each artist contracting
with the talent service.
B. The amount of the fees paid by or for the artist
during the term of the contract with the talent
service.
C. The amount of fees reimbursed and proof they were
not an advance for a third party.
D. The original contract issued between the talent
service and the artist.
E. Documented proof of certain advertisement claims.
8. Increases a bond requirement for talent services from
$10,000 to $50,000.
9. Provides that a person, including an officer, director
agent, or employee who willfully violates these
provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor.
10.Provides that damages for violations shall be no less
than three times the amount paid by the artist to the
talent service.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/28/09)
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Better Business Bureau (co-source)
Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney (co-source)
Screen Actors Guild (co-source)
- Billy DaMota Casting
- BizParentz Foundation
- California District Attorney's Association
- Marin County District Attorney Edward Berberian
- Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas
- San Diego City Attorney, Jan I. Goldsmith
- San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris
- The Walt Disney Company
- The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.
(includes Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,
Paramount Pictures Corporation, Sony Pictures
Entertainment, Inc., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.,
Universal Studios LLLP, Warner Bros. Entertainment
Inc.)
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/28/09)
Association of Talent and Modeling Agencies
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the Los Angeles City
Attorney's Office and the Better Business Bureau of the
Southland, complaints about acting and modeling scams have
doubled every year since 2006, and are expected to do so
again in 2009. During that time, in Southern California
alone, there have been approximately 1,000 complaints and
an additional 143,000 inquiries. The Orange County
District Attorney's Office has communicated similar
concerns and their support for this bill.
Proponents note that this bill will address a growing trend
of fraud and abuse that has double every year since 2006.
Proponents argue that with the unprecedented popularity of
"American Idol" and other reality television programming,
the false promise of instant stardom has increasingly
become a fertile ground for talent peddlers to scam the
public, victimizing children and young adults in
particular. The proponents argue that this fraud is
accomplished through deceptive newspaper, Internet and
radio advertisements and by phony "talent scouts," that
invite individuals to an "audition" which turns out to be a
"bait and switch" attempt to sell photographs, classes and
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listing services.
The proponents also note that this bill would require that
each contract contain a clause allowing the artist to
request removal of his/her information and/or photographs
from a talent service's Internet website, protecting the
rights of the artist. Proponents contend that talent
services should not be advertising artist success stories
unless they can prove the artists actually utilized their
services.
Finally, the proponents note that the additional bond
requirements will ensure that funds area available if an
individual or family is victimized by a talent service
provider. Proponents argue that it is not difficult to
post a bond, nor it is required to post $50,000 in order to
obtain one. According to the proponents, a talent service
would only be required to pay between 1.5 percent and five
percent of the bond amount per year ($500 to $2,500),
depending on the service's credit score.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Association of Talent and
Modeling Agencies argues that certain provisions within
this bill are unreasonable, unnecessary, and extremely
burdensome to law-abiding talent and modeling service
agencies.
First, the Association is concerned that the definition of
"advance-fee talent representation service" may be
interpreted to cover talent conventions/ competitions, such
as those hosted by International Modeling and Talent
Association (IMTA) and the International Presentation of
Performers (iPOP). According to the Association, acting
and modeling schools offer their students an opportunity to
go to these talent conventions/competitions for a fee,
which includes the cost of transportation, hotel, tickets
to the convention, and the cost of the tickets to the
awards banquet. The Association is concerned that if this
bill prohibits referring artists to these conventions,
iPOP, IMTA, and other convention hosts will move to other
venues. The Association suggests amending the bill to
permit that advance-fee services be provided to students
already enrolled with a modeling or talent service.
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Second, the Association is concerned with the bill's
requirement that a talent service remove information about,
or photographs of, an artist displayed on the talent
service's Internet website within 10 days of a request from
the artist. The Association asserts that this would allow
an artist to unilaterally breach a negotiated agreement
with an acting or modeling school where the school offers
to train the artist for a fee and the right to use their
name and likeness as someone who has attended the school.
Further, the Association is concerned that talent services
would not be permitted to advertise artist success stories
unless they have a written contract for that artist. The
Association states that some talent training services, such
as John Robert Powers, were established at a time when
written contracts were either not issued or maintained and
thus do not have actual signed contracts with many of their
pre-1960 artist. The Association asserts that these talent
service providers should not be precluded from continuing
to advertise those artists. The Association suggests
amending the bill to allow for an exception if the artist
and talent training service have a valid contract where the
artist agrees to allow the use his/her name and likeness by
the talent training service.
Third, the Association states that the increased bond
requirement from $10,000 to $50,000 is excessive and
unreasonable. It suggests maintaining the $10,000 bond
requirement for companies with a physical presence in
California, and requiring a $50,000 bond for those
companies who do not have a physical presence in the state.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La
Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong,
Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway,
DeVore, Duvall, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick,
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Gilmore, Hagman, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Niello,
Nielsen, Audra Strickland, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block
RJG:mw 8/28/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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