BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2032|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2032
Author: Davis (D)
Amended: 5/28/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUS. RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 4-1, 6/23/10
AYES: DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Leno, Yee
NOES: Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-2, 7/15/10
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Emmerson, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alquist, Wyland, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-23, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Employment: entertainment work permits
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill levies a fee to fund the
administration of permits for minors in the entertainment
industry, as well as to fund enforcement of working
conditions for minors in the entertainment industry.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law :
CONTINUED
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1. Requires the written consent of the Labor Commissioner
for the employment of a minor in the entertainment
industry, as specified.
2. 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.
3. 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 a evidence that a "Coogan Trust
Account" ahs been established on behalf o f 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 submits to the Labor
Commissioner an application fee with his or 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
enforcing existing laws and regulations.
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3. Requires the Labor Commissioner to set a fee in order to
collect sufficient revenue to pay for the costs of the
above activities, but mandates that the fee cannot
exceed $50.
Prior/Related Legislation
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 or 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.
SB 210 (Burton), Chapter 667, Statutes of 2004, which adds
the requirement that the Labor Commissioner's written
consent for performances of a minor under Labor Code
Section 1308.5 be limited to 10 days, unless a Coogan Trust
Account has been established, as discussed above.
The enforcement of this system is placed upon the studio
teachers, with whom the duty to check a child performer's
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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.
AB 402 (Davis) of 2009-10 Session, is nearly identical to
this bill, which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. In
his veto statement, Governor Schwarzenegger stated that
"Rather than creating a new fee and duties for the
Department of Industrial Relations, it is important to
administer this program in the most efficient manner by
transferring this function to the schools."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-1 3 Fund
EWP fee Unknown, potentially up to ($2,700)
Special*
annually
$767 to $1,100 savings one time
General
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*Entertainment Work Permit Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/2/10)
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, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jones, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Monning, Nava, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson,
Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Emmerson,
Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Furutani, Harkey, Lieu,
Norby, Audra Strickland, Vacancy
PQ:do 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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