BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 402|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 402
Author: Davis (D)
Amended: 8/31/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMM. : 5-1, 7/8/09
AYES: DeSaulnier, Wyland, Ducheny, Leno, Yee
NOES: Hollingsworth
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-3, 8/17/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza, Price, Wolk,
Wyland, Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-28, 6/3/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Employment: entertainment work permits
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires applicants for an
Entertainment Work Permit for minors to pay a fee in order
to fund the administration of the Entertainment Work
Permits and the enforcement of the working conditions of
minors in the entertainment industry. The fee shall be
submitted to the Labor Commissioner and be set at $50 for
two years and at a maximum of $50 thereafter, as determined
by the Labor Commissioner to pay for costs incurred.
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Senate Floor Amendments of 8/31/09 remove the current
citation and name of the bill.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the written consent of
the Labor Commissioner for the employment of a minor in the
entertainment industry, as specified.
Existing law requires an entertainment work permit to be
obtained from the Labor Commissioner for a minor in order
for them to be employed in the entertainment industry.
Existing law provides that once written consent is given by
the Labor Commissioner, as specified, that consent shall be
void after the expiration of ten business days from the
date the written consent was granted unless it is attached
to a true and correct copy as evidence that a "Coogan Trust
Account" has been established on behalf of the minor.
This bill:
1. Requires that an applicant for an Entertainment Work
Permit pursuant to Section 11753 of Title 8 of the
California Code of Regulations to submit to the Labor
Commissioner an application fee with his/her
application.
2. Creates an Entertainment Work Permit Fund in the State
Treasury and directs the Labor Commissioner to deposit
the application fee into the Entertainment Work Permit
Fund, which, upon appropriation by the Legislature, must
be used to pay the costs of:
A. Issuing Entertainment Work Permits.
B. Enforcing the requirement of an Entertainment Work
Permit for minors at worksites, including making at
least one unannounced visit to a randomly selected
set or production facility where children are working
under an Entertainment Work Permit per quarter.
C. Administering the Entertainment Work Permit
program, including the production of informational
materials, the development of a web site, and
training to studio teachers on their role in
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enforcing existing laws and regulations.
3. Provides that the fee shall be submitted to the Labor
Commissioner and be set at $50 for two years and at a
maximum of $50 thereafter, as determined by the Labor
Commissioner to pay for costs incurred.
Comments
The Coogan law was passed in 1938 in response to Jackie
Coogan's plight. Even though he earned millions as a child
actor, Coogan was surprised to find out when he reached
adulthood that his entire earnings were depleted, because
his mother and stepfather spent all his money legally, as
the law of the time considered his earnings to be his
parents' property. The Coogan law was enacted to preserve
a portion of a minor's earnings under an employment
contract for creative or artistic services, for the minor's
use when he/she turns 18 years of age, or becomes legally
emancipated.
SB 1162 (Burton), Chapter 940, Statutes of 1999, overhauled
the Coogan law. Applicable to both court-approved and non
court-approved minors' contracts for creative or artistic
employment, SB 1162 required 15 percent of a minor's
earnings to be set aside and deposited into a "Coogan
trust" account, invested in low-risk financial vehicles,
and blocked from use until the minor is emancipated or
reaches age 18. To enforce the set-aside, SB 1162 imposed
a duty on the employer to make the deposit directly into
the minor's Coogan trust account, which a parent or
guardian is required to open at an insured financial
institution and to invest in a manner consistent with that
of a trustee. Annual accounting is required, and court
supervision of trust accounts for minors with
court-approved contracts continues until the minor turns 18
years of age or becomes legally emancipated.
To further strengthen enforcement of the Coogan law, the
Legislature adopted, and the Governor signed, SB 210
(Burton), Chapter 667, Statutes of 2004, which added the
requirement that the Labor Commission's written consent for
performances of a minor under Section 1308.5 of the Labor
Code be limited to 10 days, unless a Coogan Trust Account
has been established, as discussed above.
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The enforcement of this system is placed upon the studio
teachers, with whom the duty to check a child performer's
paperwork rests. A studio teacher is a certificated
teacher who holds both a valid and current California
Elementary and a California Secondary teaching credential,
which is certified by the Labor Commissioner. Studio
teachers are paid by the employer (e.g. a production
company or studio).
A studio teacher, in addition to teaching, has the
responsibility for caring and attending to the health,
safety, and morals of minors under 16 years of age, and
shall take cognizance of such factors as: working
conditions, physical surroundings, signs of minor's mental
and physical fatigue, demands placed upon the minor in
relation to the minor's age, agility, strength, and
stamina, and may refuse to allow engagement of a minor on a
set or a location and may remove the minor there from, if
in judgment of studio teacher, conditions are such as to
present a danger to the health, safety, or morals of the
minor.
This bill creates a fund for the enforcement of existing
law for minors in the entertainment industry, which, with
legislative appropriation, would finance the issuance of
Entertainment Work Permits and the enforcement of working
conditions for minors in the entertainment industry.
Prior Legislation
SB 210 (Burton), Chapter 667, Statutes of 2004, added the
requirement that the Labor Commission's written consent for
performances of a minor be limited to 10 days, unless a
Coogan Trust Account has been established.
SB 1162 (Burton), Chapter 940, Statutes of 1999, made
significant changes to the Coogan law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
EWP fee ($2,700) annually; $1,100
GeneralSpecial*
Fund savings ongoing
* Entertainment Work Permit Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/1/09)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
BizParentz
Screen Actors Guild
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents believe that existing
law creates an enforcement structure that is inadequate to
monitor and track the work permits and ensure that the
hundreds of minors who work in the entertainment industry
are safe and secure. Proponents believe that by creating
the Entertainment Work Permit Fund, which will exist solely
to enforce regulations that protect minors in the
entertainment industry, this bill will foster a safer work
environment for many young performers, as well as reduce
funding pressure on the state in a time of great fiscal
need.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A.
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Fletcher,
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Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey,
Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran,
Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Yamada
AGB:mw 9/1/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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