BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1319
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1319 (Krekorian) - As Amended: April 15, 2009
Policy Committee: Labor and
Employment Vote: 5-1
A.E.S.T & I. 7-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill revamps provisions of law regulating to talent
services, adding several new definitions and imposing new
requirements, responsibilities or prohibitions on providers of
those services. Key provisions of the bill:
1)Establishes a definition for an "advance-fee talent
representation service" and prohibits a person from owning,
acting in the capacity of, advertising for or soliciting for,
or knowingly referring any person to such services.
2)Establishes a definition for a variety of other fee-related
talent services, such as a "talent training service," "talent
counseling service," and a "talent listing service."
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 person, including an officer, director agent
or employee who violates these provisions is guilty of a
misdemeanor and eliminates a requirement that violation be
"willful" to constitute a misdemeanor.
5)Provides that damages for violations shall be no less than
three times the amount paid by the artist to the talent
service.
FISCAL EFFECT
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1)Unknown, probably minor (less than $100,000) net impact on the
Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) related to
investigation and enforcement activities.
a) The DIR indicates it does not have an estimate for this
bill. However, it indicates that it currently receives a
large number of complaints about talent agencies.
b) The new requirements in the bill could impose added
enforcement costs in some instances. However, to the extent
that the bill prohibits the advanced-fee arrangements that
are currently responsible for a large number of complaints
about practices in this industry, DIR could also experience
offsetting investigation and enforcement related savings.
c) Local enforcement costs not state reimbursable.
COMMENTS
1)Background . "Talent agencies" are defined as persons or
corporations who engage in the procuring, offering, promising
or attempting to procure employment or engagements for
artists. While most agencies charge commissions upon actual
placement of the client, some charge advanced fees.
California has regulated talent agencies since 1959. However,
prior to 1999, California law did not regulate persons engaged
in the solicitation of advance-fee payments from an artists
prior to employment being secured. At the time, concerns were
expressed that unscrupulous individuals were posing as talent
agents or talent managers and were requesting large payments
in exchange for promises of employment that they could never
deliver.
In response to these concerns, the Legislature passed AB 884
(Kuehl), Chapter 626, Statutes of 1999, which set forth
various limitations on talent services. Among other things,
the measure required a contract between an advance-fee talent
service and an artist to be in writing and to contain
specified provisions, including a right to cancel the contract
and to receive a refund under certain circumstances. The bill
also required advance-fee talent services to file a bond or
deposit in the amount of $10,000 with the Labor Commissioner,
and set forth other prohibitions and penalties. However,
AB 1319
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complaints about these activities continue to grow.
2)Rationale . This measure - co-sponsored by Los Angeles City
Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and
the Better Business Bureau - is intended to address the
growing number of complaints about talent agencies, by
prohibiting advanced fee talent services altogether and
further strengthening other laws related to talent services.
The author's office states 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."
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081