FSC: California Age Verification Bill Killed in Committee

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Adult industry trade group the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced Tuesday morning that AB 3080, the California bill calling for age verification to be required on adult websites, has been sent to the Senate Appropriation Committee's Suspense File, effectively killing it. FSC's full announcement follows: California’s age-verification bill, AB 3080, is effectively dead after its potential price tag landed it in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File. The Free Speech Coalition was active in its opposition to AB 3080, testifying against the bill in committee hearings, meeting with legislators, and rallying allies, industry members and fans to speak out against the bill. In June, following extensive discussions with Assm. Alanis, and the introduction of several amendments addressing FSC’s key concerns, FSC withdrew its formal opposition to the bill. However, privacy and civil liberties advocates including Electronic Frontier Foundation, FIRE, ACLU and Woodhull Freedom Foundation remained actively opposed. “We thank Assm. Alanis for working so earnestly with us throughout the life of this bill,” says Alison Boden, Executive Director of Free Speech Coalition. “We completely agree with the need to keep minors from accessing age-inappropriate content without unintentionally blocking millions of adult consumers. We continue to believe this is possible and look forward to working with him and other members of the Assembly in future sessions.”  Bills placed in the Senate Appropriations “suspense file” are held until the state budget has been prepared and are then considered in relation to available revenue. California’s on-going budget deficit makes bills placed in suspense unlikely to move forward, effectively killing them.