California voters will decide in 2016 if porn actors should be required to wear condoms.
The initiative qualified for the ballot after receiving more than 500,000 signatures, according to the California Secretary of State. The signatures were submitted by leaders of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which proposed the initiative as the "California Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry Act."
Under the proposed ballot measure, performers in adult films would be required to wear condoms during intercourse. Producers would also be required to pay for performer vaccinations and medical examinations as well as obtain a state health license. California officials estimated it would cost the state several million dollars each year to administrate if the initiative passed, but it would also possibly save local health departments money.
AIDS Health Foundation president Michael Weinstein told the Los Angeles Times that based on their polling, the group is confident voters will pass the initiative.
"There is no area of employment where safety is optional," Weinstein told the Times.
The group campaigned for a similar law in Los Angeles County, which voters approved in 2012. In response, porn production company Vivid Entertainment filed a lawsuit, but California courts have so far agreed that the condom requirement did not violate the state's constitution.
Opponents have said the condom requirement would drive the porn industry away, and the existing testing policies are enough to protect performers. After L.A County passed its condom requirement, the number of permits for porn productions dropped from 480 to 24.