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ASSEMBLY BILL 997 (ROBINSON – 1982)

CHAPTER 682, STATUTES OF 1982

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Labor Code sections 1700.4 and 1700.44 were amended, repealed and added; section 1700.46 was repealed; and Labor Code sections 1701 et seq. were enacted in 1982 following approval of Assembly Bill 997.  (See Exhibit #1i)  Assembly member Alatorre initially introduced the legislation on March 16, 1981.  (See Exhibit #1a)  However, the Senate amendments of August 2, 1982 gutted the bill and provisions relating to talent agencies were proposed by Assembly member Richard Robinson, who then carried the measure through to enactment.  (See Exhibits #1e and #4) 

As introduced, Assembly Bill 997 addressed the issue of the use of truth verification devices by employers or prospective employers.  (See Exhibit #1a)  In this form, the measure was heard by the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment, the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, the Senate Committee on Industrial Relations and the Senate Committee on Finance.  (See Exhibits #2 and #4)  Four amendments were made during this time, one by the Assembly and three by the Senate.  (See Exhibits #1b through #1e and #2)  This last amendment, which occurred on August 2, 1982, replaced the provisions regarding the use of truth verification devises with the proposal to add section 1700.4a to the Labor Code relating to talent agencies.  (See Exhibit #1e)  

In this form, Assembly Bill 997 was heard by the Senate Committee on Business and Professions and the Senate Committee on Finance.  (See Exhibits #2 and #4)  Three more amendments were made to the bill while before the Senate.  (See Exhibits #1f through #1h and #2)  Following legislative approval, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. signed Assembly Bill 997 on August 31, 1982, and it was recorded by the Secretary of State as Chapter 682 of the Statutes of 1982.  (See Exhibits #1i and #2)

Given the history of this bill as noted above we include with this report only that material which is relevant to Assembly Bill 997 as enacted with the talent agency provisions.  It is not readily clear from the documents, or from Assembly member Robinson, why the Legislature deleted the provisions regarding truth verification devices from the bill and substituted the provisions regarding talent agencies.  A statement prepared by the Association of Talent Agents addressed the issue of “AB 997, Due Process and Fair Hearings” called “[t]he ‘hijacking’ of AB 997 . . . an obvious effort to subvert the legislative process calling for full and fair hearings on important legislative measures.”  (See Exhibit #5, document SP-2)

A description of Assembly Bill 997 as passed by the Legislature was provided in the Enrolled Bill Report of the Department of Finance, which stated:

AB 997 exempts talent agencies from licensure and regulation by the Labor Commissioner until January 1, 1985.  The bill also establishes until January 1, 1985 a one year statute of limitations for initiating civil proceedings against talent agencies which are licensed, and repeals the provision of current law providing criminal penalties for violations.  In addition, the bill would create the California Entertainment Commission to recommend a model bill to the Legislature regarding the licensing of talent agencies, particularly in the recording industry.
(See Exhibit #10, document PE-6)