BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 533
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 533 (Ian Calderon)
As Amended June 3, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 16, 2013) |SENATE: |39-0 |(June 24, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: A., E., S., T., & I.M.
SUMMARY : Excludes background performers from the requirement of
establishing a Coogan Trust, as defined.
The Senate amendments are technical and clarifying and delete
obsolete cross references.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Provided that notwithstanding any other statute, an order
approving a minor's contract of a type described in Labor Code
Section 6750, the court shall require that 15% of the minor's
gross earnings pursuant to the contract be set aside by the
minor's employer, except an employer of a minor for services
as an extra, background performer, or in a similar capacity,
as specified.
2)Exempted an employer of a minor for services as an extra,
background performer, or in a similar capacity, as specified,
from depositing or disbursing the 15% of the minor's gross
earnings pursuant to the contract within 15 business days
after receiving a true and accurate copy of the trustee's
statement, a certified copy of the minor's birth certificate,
and, in the case of a guardian, a certified copy of the court
document appointing the person as the minor's guardian.
3)Provided that notwithstanding any other statute, for any
minor's contract for services as an extra, background
performer, or similar capacity, as specified, that is not
being submitted for approval by the court pursuant to existing
law, or for which the court has issued a final order denying
approval, is exempt from having 15% of the minor's gross
earnings pursuant to the contract be set aside by the minor's
employer.
AB 533
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4)Stipulated that an employer of a minor for services as an
extra, background performer, or in a similar capacity, as
specified, is not required to deposit 15% of the minor's gross
earnings pursuant to the contract within 15 business days of
receiving the trustee's statement, or if the court denies
approval of the contract, within 15 business days of receiving
a final order denying approval of the contract.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Existing law requires that
all child actors must have 15% of their earnings set aside in a
Coogan Trust Account, which may not be accessed by anyone -
including the child actor - until after they become adults. For
child actors who earn large sums as principal performers, the
Coogan law provides needed and beneficial protection. However,
for kids who only work once or twice a year as an extra or
background performer, this requirement is an unnecessary and
inefficient waste, and simply denies kids some summer fun money.
AB 533 corrects this situation and removes the requirement that
the parents of background kids have to create Coogan accounts."
Central Casting, the largest casting agency in the world, states
that background performers work less than two times a year on
average. The author concludes, "The daily pay rate for the
background actors is $64 non-union and $145 for kids who are in
SAG/AFTRA. When you take out 20% for their agent; 7% for taxes;
15% a Coogan Account, very little is left to deposit. Given
that some banks charge fees for the Coogan Account, and draw it
from the corpus of the trust, this pittance is exhausted
quickly. For those accounts which are in place - waiting until
a child reaches majority to release the funds is really
inefficient and does little further our goal with the Coogan Act
to protect kids."
According to The Actor's Fund of America (AFA), "the Unclaimed
Coogan Fund has over 36,000 individual deposits, and over 31,000
of them are for less than $99." Very few have aggregated sums
of substance, which leads AFA to conclude it is probably all
background players who are abandoning their money rather than
establishing a Coogan Trust Account.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
AB 533
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Analysis Prepared by : Dana Mitchell / A., E., S., T. & I.M. /
(916) 319-3450
FN: 0001136