BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Richard Alarcon, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 28, 2006 2005-2006 Regular
Session
Consultant: Frances Low Fiscal:Yes
Urgency:No
Bill No: AB 2072
Author: Montanez
Amended: June 26, 2006
Subject: Employment: Representation of minors.
Purpose:
To require persons who represent or provide specified
services to artists who are under 16 years of age to submit
an application and an additional fee to the Labor
Commissioner (LC) to permit screening of the individual to
determine if he or she is a registered sex offender.
Analysis:
Existing law requires that persons or corporations that act
as talent agencies pay a filing fee and obtain a license
from the Labor Commissioner to represent artists who are
minors. Applicants are required to provide their business
history and financial information along with fingerprints
and affidavits from personal references and post a bond
with the Commissioner before the license may be issued. No
license shall be granted to conduct the business of a
talent agency in a place that would endanger the health,
safety, or welfare of the artist or to a person whose
license has been revoked within three years of the date of
application. The Commissioner may revoke the license of
any agency for failure to comply with the provisions of the
law, as specified.
This Bill requires persons who represent or provide
specified services to any artists under 16 years of age to
submit an application and pay a filing fee of $25 to the
Labor Commissioner, in addition to any other required fees,
as specified. These persons are required to renew their
application every two years by resubmitting their name and
a new filing fee to the Commissioner. The Commissioner is
required to forward the name of the applicant to the
California Department of Justice (DOJ), to inquire whether
the applicant is required to register as a sex offender and
subject to public notification. The Commissioner is
required to send a copy of the search results to the
applicant in a timely manner and keep a copy, along with
the applicant's fingerprints and application, on file. The
applicant is required to post the results of the search in
a conspicuous place in his or her place of business.
This bill defines "represent" to mean the person receives a
fee from an artist for one or more of the following
services, including, but not limited to:
Photography, including but not limited to still
photography, digital photography, video and film
services provided directly to the artist;
Managing or directing the development or
advancement of the artist's career as an artist;
Career counseling, career consulting, vocational
guidance, aptitude testing, evaluation, or planning,
in each case relating to the preparation of the artist
for employment as an artist; and,
Public relations services or publicity, or both,
including arranging personal appearances, developing
and distributing press packets, managing fan mail,
designing and maintaining Internet Web sites, and
consulting on media relations.
This bill also provides that a person who willfully
violates any provision of this bill is guilty of a
misdemeanor and each violation is punishable by
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year
or by a fine not to exceed $10,000. or by both fine and
imprisonment.
Hearing Date: June 28, 2006 AB
2072
Consultant: Frances Low
Page 2
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
This bill does not apply to any person licensed as a talent
agent or operating under a talent agent's license under
current law, persons whose contact with minors is resticted
by location, as specified and persons with only incidental
and occasional contact, as specified.
Comments:
Proponents :
Supporters of AB 2072 point out that currently, sex
offender registrants whose sex crime was against a victim
under age 16 are prohibited by law from working, as an
employee or volunteer, if the work is directly with minors
in an unaccompanied setting on more than an incidental or
occasional basis or if they would have supervisory or
disciplinary power over the child. If the registrant's
crime was not against a victim under age 16, the registrant
must notify the employer or volunteer organization of his
status as a registrant. Penal Code Section 290.95 states
that failure to comply with this law is a misdemeanor
offense.
The author states that pedophiles and child molesters have
been found to have a profile of questionable behavior,
which accompanies their day to day life. Some of those
characteristics include, collecting exploitive child
photos, working in environments where they have access to
children and befriending families and friends of the
children to gain their trust. Although not all people who
have these characteristics are pedophiles, many of the
tactics used by pedophiles can be disguised through certain
types of professions. In the entertainment industry it is
common practice for children to be in the company of adults
who are not their parents, have photos taken by strangers
in order to obtain work, and befriend adults who can aid in
their professional growth. Child predators can easily
obtain work as professional photographers or managers and
use their job to lure unassuming children and parents to
Hearing Date: June 28, 2006 AB
2072
Consultant: Frances Low
Page 3
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
trust them. Even if a pedophile does not physically harm
a child, abusive behavior can still exist in the form of
marketing images of children to individuals who could harm
them. Although the majority of child modeling and acting
agencies are legitimate, there are still loopholes within
the existing regulations that make it very easy for a
predator to gain access to children under false pretense.
Supporters feel that the safeguards put in place by AB 2072
will deter sex offenders from representing child
performers.
Support:
A Minor Consideration
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
Opposition:
None on file as of June 26, 2006
* * *
Hearing Date: June 28, 2006 AB
2072
Consultant: Frances Low
Page 4
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations