BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1319
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1319 (Krekorian)
As Amended April 15, 2009
Majority vote
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT 5-1 ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS
7-2
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|Ayes:|Monning, Bill Berryhill, |Ayes:|Davis, Silva, Blumenfield, |
| |Eng, Ma, Portantino | | |
| | | |Charles Calderon, De Leon, |
| | | |Krekorian, Price |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------|
|Nays:|Gaines |Nays:|Gaines, Audra Strickland |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, | | |
| |Charles Calderon, Davis, | | |
| |Krekorian, Hall, Harkey, | | |
| |John A. Perez, Price, | | |
| |Skinner, Solorio, | | |
| |Torlakson | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Miller, | | |
| |Audra Strickland | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Recasts and revises provisions of existing law
regulating advance-fee talent services. Specifically, this bill
makes the following substantive changes to the existing
statutory requirements:
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 fee-related "talent services" as
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either a "talent counseling service," a "talent listing
service," or a "talent training service."
3)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, holds themselves out as
providing, or represents it will make a referral to another
person who will provide an artist with career counseling,
career consulting, vocational guidance, aptitude testing,
career evaluation, or career planning as an artist.
4)Defines a "talent listing service" as a person who, for a fee,
provides or offers to provide, holds themselves out as
providing, or represents it will make a referral to another
person who will provide an artist with any of the following:
a) A list of one or more auditions or employment
opportunities;
b) A list of one or more talent agents or talent managers,
including an associate, representative or designee thereof;
c) 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; and,
d) 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.
5)Defines a "talent training service" as a person who, for a
fee, provides or offers to provide, holds themselves out as
providing, or represents it will make a referral to another
person who will provide an artist with lessons, coaching,
seminars, workshops, or similar training as an artist.
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6)Establishes a number of specified exemptions from the
requirements of this bill for various entities or individuals
that meet certain conditions.
7)Prohibits a "talent service," its directors, officer, agents
and employees from engaging in a number of specified
activities.
8)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.
9)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;" or,
b) Provide a listing of an audition, job, or employment
opportunity without written permission for the listing. A
talent listing service shall 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.
1)Revises requirements related to language and other provisions
for contracts between artists and talent services.
2)Prohibits a contract for fee-related talent services from
being automatically renewed.
3)Amends procedures related to the cancellation of contracts and
refunds.
4)Revises recordkeeping requirements.
5)Increases a bond requirement for talent services from $10,000
to $50,000.
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6)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.
7)Provides that damages for violations shall be no less than
three times the amount paid by the artist to the talent
service.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in unknown, probably minor
(less than $100,000) costs to the Department of Industrial
Relations related to investigation and enforcement activities.
COMMENTS : This bill proposes to revamp and recast the
provisions of law regulating advance-fee talent services, adding
several new definitions and imposing new requirements,
responsibilities or prohibitions on providers of those services.
In general, this bill proposes to distinguish "advance-fee
representation services" (which are prohibited by the bill) from
other types of "fee-related talent services," which are subject
to specific regulation as set forth by the bill.
This measure is co-sponsored by Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky
Delgadillo, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and the Better
Business Bureau - Southland.
According to the author's office:
"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.
This fraud is accomplished through deceptive
newspaper, Internet and radio advertisements and by
phony 'talent scouts', who descend upon parents at
shopping malls and community fairs, offer the
unsolicited opinion that their child has star
potential, and invite them to an 'audition'- which
turns out to be a 'bait and switch' attempt to sell
photographs, classes and listing services.
While the number of consumers swindled multiplies,
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talent scams run rampant because our current laws do
not address the types of fraud they employ and do not
provide law enforcement with the tools to address the
problem.
According to statistics from 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, revealing a massive public interest
in businesses that promote instant stardom. Since the
amount of loss to an individual victim frequently
amounts to $1,000 or more, this is a crime that
results in millions of dollars in loss.
Aside from causing substantial monetary loss - usually
to persons who can least afford it - talent scams
cause severe emotional harm to victims, who go from
the initial feeling of elation after learning they
have passed the 'audition,' to extreme disappointment
when it is revealed that the audition and promise of
acting jobs was a lie to sell them photos, classes or
websites. Obviously, this has even a greater impact
upon children. Even when a parent chooses not to pay
for the service, the resentment of their children
strains relationships.
Another byproduct of the talent scam is that offenders
obtain personal information about their clients which
can lead to identity theft.
Plus, there is a genuine concern expressed by parent's
groups that the failure to adequately regulate this
industry allows pedophiles and other unscrupulous
persons a means to gain access to minors.
[This bill] is a comprehensive solution to the problem
of abusive business practices and fraud that permeates
the advance-fee talent industry. It provides law
enforcement with the tools necessary to protect the
public and children in particular.
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Existing law makes it a misdemeanor offense,
punishable by jail, for talent representation services
(agents, manager, career counselors) to charge
potential actors and models fees for classes, photos
or registration, or to follow other requirements,
including using written contracts containing a 10-day
right of cancellation, maintaining records and posting
a $10,000 bond with the State Labor Commissioner.
At present, there are no laws which regulate talent
training service or talent listing services, the
avenues which have been exploited by talent scammers."
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
FN: 0000681