State officials vote down required condom use for porn actors

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - California officials in charge of workplace safety have voted down a proposal that would have put condoms on porn actors.

The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health's Standards Board voted the measure down yesterday when only three members supported it, Cal/Osha spokeswoman Julia Bernstein told the Los Angeles Times. Four yes votes from the seven-member board were required for passage.

The vote was 3-2 in favor, with one member absent and one board position currently open.

The board will now begin considering a new worker-safety measure for the porn industry, Bernstein said.

Board members appeared influenced by the dozens of porn industry representatives who filed to the dais during a public hearing in Oakland to argue forcefully but politely that adopting the condom measure would either destroy their multibillion-industry or force it underground.

Doing the latter, they said, could make it more dangerous to performers by eliminating safeguards such as the industry's requirement that actors be tested every 14 days for sexually transmitted diseases, The Times reported.

Condoms are already required for films made in Los Angeles County, thanks to an AIDS Healthcare Foundation-sponsored ordinance that voters adopted in 2012. The group has placed a similar measure on the statewide ballot for November.