Friday, February 21, 2020

A regular boner for regulation.

Having hamstrung self-employment by forcing companies to treat Uber drivers and freelance writers as employees*, the California legislature is casting their eye around for another sector of the economy to torpedo.

The Eye of Sacramento has landed on the Adult Entertainment Industry. Apparently now they're proposing that Californians obtain special licensing to, among other things, show their boobies to other people on the internet for money.
"On Tuesday, Assemblymembers Lorena Gonzalez (D–San Diego) and Christina Garcia (D–Bell Gardens) introduced Assembly Bill (A.B.) 2389. The bill would require adult entertainers and video performers, including webcam performers, to obtain a business license and complete a state-mandated training course before being allowed to ply their trade."
You will be unsurprised to find out that Gonzalez is the mastermind (in the loosest sense of the term) behind AB5, the legislation that torpedoed the gig economy.

*Another thing at which you will be less than surprised: AB5 exempts several specific categories of freelancer from its ridiculous requirements, and lawyers are one of them.