SACRAMENTO, Calif. [NBC 11]-- A coalition of porn stars, live dancers and other adult entertainers flocked to the state capitol on Monday to oppose a so-called porn tax, which would levy fees against adult entertainment businesses.
The advocacy event was sponsored by the Free Speech Coalition. According to its Web site, the 3,500-member Free Speech Coalition was founded in 1991 as "a result of numerous government attacks against producers and retailers of adult products."
Among the legislation being discussed is Assembly Bill 1551, by Assemblyman Chuck Calderon.
"It's necessary to raise revenues. I mean we tax cigarettes, we tax liquor, goalies, those are special taxes and so this is a special tax as well," Calderon said.
Former California gubernatorial hopeful Mary Carey was at Monday's event.
"By putting a tax on that, we're just making an industry that brings in money to the state of California. It's going to decrease, because people are just going to get it from other places, and I mean, if there's a tax here, people will just order more online or from other countries and that's not going to benefit California in any way," said Carey, who's appeared in more than 60 adult films.
The adult entertainment industry generates $3 to $4 billion a year in California and has about 50,000 workers. The bill would impose a tax on businesses that sell adult DVDs, videos, magazines and live performances. The money would go into the Adult Entertainment Venue Impact Fund.
The group said business leaders throughout the porn industry view the legislation as "yet another barrier to doing business California."
"Like the motion picture industry, we have to compete against overseas competition, which pirates our products and sells them over the Internet," said Diane Duke, executive director for the coalition. "More than 50,000 people are employed by the industry in California. Do we really want to compromise those jobs?"
Duke said the industry could face an added cost of doing business in California for this $3 billion a year.
"According to FSC attorneys, this bill is fraught with constitutional problems and unfairly singles out the industry, while falsely promoting myths about adult entertainment," said Matt Gray, FSC's California lobbyist.
Calderon said the porn tax is not about morals -- it's about the money. He said he sees it as a way to balance the budget.
There's also a fight in the California Senate, where the Free Speech Coalition is opposing efforts to rezone any group home for sex offenders as an adult business.
Both bills will be the subject of spirited debate at the state capitol in May.
