HB418: HB418 Georgia Child Performer Empowerment and Protection Act; enact

25 LC 52 0612 House Bill 418 By: Representatives Schofield of the 63rd, Carpenter of the 4th, Tran of the 80th, Davis of the 87th, and Scott of the 76th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 2 of Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 regulation of employment of minors, so as to require the establ ishment of blocked trust2 accounts for minors rendering artistic or creative services in this state; to provide for3 definitions; to provide for the Commissioner of Labor to invest igate and determine4 conditions of employment of child performers prior to the comme ncement of such5 employment; to provide for inspections; to provide for requirements related to blocked trust6 accounts for child performers; to provide for requirements rela ted to such accounts for7 minors engaged in online content creation; to provide for civil actions and damages; to8 require the conditions of employment for a child performer to n ot be detrimental to such9 minor's health, well-being, and education; to provide for sched uling restrictions and for10 discretionary exceptions; to provide for related matters; to provide for a short title; to provide11 for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:13 SECTION 1.14 This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Child Performer Empowerment15 and Protection Act."16 H. B. 418 - 1 - 25 LC 52 0612 SECTION 2.17 Chapter 2 of Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated , relating to regulation of18 employment of minors, is amended by revising Code Section 39-2- 18, relating to19 applicability of provisions of chapter to minors employed as actors or performers, as follows:20 "39-2-18.21 (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to th e contrary, nothing in this22 chapter shall apply to any minor employed as an actor or performer in motion pictures or23 theatrical productions, in radio or television productions, in any other performance, concert,24 or entertainment, or to any minor employed in the making of phonographic records or as25 an advertising or photographic model, provided that the written consent of the26 Commissioner of Labor must be first obtained.27 (a) As used in this chapter, the term:28 (1) 'Artistic or creative services' means services to create, perform, or otherwise29 participate in the performing arts and other events or activiti es designed to entertain30 others, whether live or recorded, using any format and any medi um, including but not31 limited to motion pictures, theatrical productions, radio or television productions, musical32 performances or concerts, online content creation, recordings, modeling, and33 photography.34 (2) 'Blocked trust account' or 'account' means the account pro vided for in Code35 Section 39-2-18.1.36 (3) 'Child performer' means a minor who agrees to render artis tic or creative services.37 Such term includes but is not limited to a minor who is an acto r, dancer, musician,38 comedian, singer, stunt person, voice-over artist, runway or print model, other performer39 or entertainer, songwriter, musical producer, arranger, writer, director, producer,40 production executive, choreographer, composer, conductor, or de signer. Such term41 includes a minor who is engaged in online content creation as p rovided for in Code42 Section 39-2-18.2.43 H. B. 418 - 2 - 25 LC 52 0612 (4) 'Gross earnings' means the total compensation payable to the child performer under44 a contract or payable to a third-party individual for the artistic or creative services of the45 child performer.46 (5) 'Online content creator' means an individual, individuals, company, or other corporate47 entity that creates, posts, shares, or otherwise interacts with digital content, video content,48 articles, video blogs or vlogs, or images on an online platform in exchange for49 compensation. Such term does not include a minor who produces their own content.50 (6) 'Online platform' means a digital service that uses the internet to facilitate interactions51 between two or more separate but interdependent users. Such term includes any public52 website, web application, digital application, mobile applicati on, social network,53 advertising network, mobile operating system, search engine, email service, or internet54 access service.55 (b) Before the Commissioner of Labor shall give his or her written consent, as provided56 in subsection (a) of this Code section, he for a child performer to be employed by or57 permitted to work rendering artistic or creative services in th is state, he or she s h a l l58 investigate and determine that:59 (1) The That the environment in which the work is to be performed is proper for the60 minor;61 (2) The That the conditions of employment are not detrimental to the health of the minor62 and are compliant with the scheduling restrictions as provided for in Code63 Section 39-2-18.3;64 (3) The That the minor's education will not be neglected or hampered by his or her65 participation in any of the activities referred to in subsection (a); and as a child performer;66 (4) The That the minor will not be used for pornographic purposes; and67 (5) The minor's parent or legal guardian has established a blo cked trust account68 designating the minor as the beneficiary as provided for in Code Section 39-2-18.1.69 H. B. 418 - 3 - 25 LC 52 0612 (c) The Department of Labor shall conduct periodic and unannounced site inspections at70 locations where child performers are employed by or permitted to work rendering artistic71 or creative services in this state to ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter."72 SECTION 3.73 Said chapter is further amended by adding new Code sections to read as follows:74 "39-2-18.1.75 (a) A blocked trust account required to be established by a child performer's parent or legal76 guardian shall provide, at a minimum, that:77 (1) Except as provided in Code Section 39-2-18.2, at least 15 percent of the gross78 earnings of the child performer shall be deposited into the account;79 (2) The funds in the account shall be available only to the child performer;80 (3) The account shall be held by a trust company, as defined in Code Section 44-5-111;81 (4) The funds in the account shall become available to the chi ld performer when the82 minor reaches the age of majority or is declared emancipated; and83 (5) The account meets the requirements of Article 5 of Chapter 5 of Title 44, 'The84 Georgia Transfers to Minors Act.'85 (b) The child performer's parent or legal guardian shall provi de the child performer's86 employer with the information necessary to transfer funds into the blocked trust account. 87 Once such employer deposits funds into the account, such employer shall have no further88 obligation or duty to monitor or account for such funds, and on ly the trustee shall be89 obligated to monitor and account for such funds.90 (c) If the child performer's parent or legal guardian fails to provide the child performer's91 employer with the information necessary to transfer funds into the blocked trust account92 within 30 days after the start of employment, funds that were t o be transferred to the93 account shall be reported and remitted to the state revenue com missioner in accordance94 with Code Section 44-12-214 of the 'Disposition of Unclaimed Pr operty Act.' The state95 H. B. 418 - 4 - 25 LC 52 0612 revenue commissioner shall notify the Commissioner of Labor of the report and remittance96 of such funds.97 39-2-18.2.98 (a) A minor is considered engaged in the work of online conten t creation when the99 following criteria are met at any time during the previous 12 month period:100 (1) At least 30 percent of the online content creator's compen sated video content101 produced within a 30 day period included the likeness, name, or image of the minor. 102 Such content percentage is measured by the percentage of time t he likeness, name, or103 image of the minor visually appears or is the subject of an ora l narrative in a video104 segment as compared to the total length of the segment; and105 (2) The number of views received per video segment on any onli ne platform met the106 online platform's threshold for the generation of compensation or the online content107 creator received actual compensation for video content equal to or greater than 10¢ per108 view.109 (b) All online content creators whose content features a minor engaged in the work of110 online content creation shall maintain the following records and shall provide such records111 to the minor or such minor's parent or legal guardian on an ongoing basis:112 (1) The name and documented proof of the age of the minor enga ged in the work of113 online content creation;114 (2) The amount of content that generated compensation as provided for in subsection (a)115 of this Code section during the reporting period;116 (3) The total number of minutes of the content for which the o nline content creator117 received compensation during the reporting period;118 (4) The total number of minutes each minor was featured in content during the reporting119 period;120 H. B. 418 - 5 - 25 LC 52 0612 (5) The total compensation generated from content featuring a minor during the reporting121 period; and122 (6) The amount deposited into the blocked trust account for th e benefit of the minor123 engaged in the work of online content creation.124 (c) If an online content creator whose content features any minors engaged in the work of125 online content creation fails to maintain the records as provid ed in subsection (b) of this126 Code section, the minor or such minor's parent or legal guardia n may commence a civil127 action to enforce such subsection.128 (d) A minor satisfying the criteria provided in subsection (a) of this Code section shall be129 compensated by the online content creator. The online content creator shall set aside gross130 earnings on the video content including the likeness, name, or image of the minor in a131 blocked trust account according to the following distribution:132 (1) When only one minor meets the content threshold described in subsection (a) of this133 Code section, the percentage of total gross earnings on any video segment including the134 likeness, name, or image of the minor that is equal to or greater than half of the content135 percentage that includes the minor; or136 (2) When more than one minor meets the content threshold described in subsection (a)137 of this Code section and a video segment includes more than one such minor, the138 percentage described in subsection (a) of this Code section for all minors in any segment139 shall be equally divided between the minors, regardless of differences in percentage of140 content provided by the individual minors.141 (e) If an online content creator knowingly or recklessly violates the requirements provided142 for in subsection (d) of this Code section, the minor or such m inor's parent or legal143 guardian may commence a civil action to enforce the provisions of such subsection. The144 court may award to a minor who prevails in any action brought i n accordance with this145 Code section actual damages, punitive damages, and the costs of such action, including146 attorney's fees and litigation costs.147 H. B. 418 - 6 - 25 LC 52 0612 39-2-18.3.148 (a) The conditions of employment, including work schedules, for a child performer shall149 not be detrimental to such minor's health, well-being, and educ ation and shall include150 required breaks for meals, rest, recreation, and education and any request for a break by the151 minor, the minor's parent or guardian, or a representative of the Department of Labor when152 in the interest of the minor.153 (b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter to th e contrary, the scheduling154 restrictions for a child performer employed or permitted to wor k rendering artistic or155 creative services shall be, at a minimum, as follows:156 (1) No infants between birth and 15 days shall be permitted to be employed or permitted157 to work;158 (2) A minor between 15 days and six months old shall not start work before 9:30 A.M.,159 shall not work more than 20 minutes per day, shall not be at a location for more than two160 hours per day, and shall not work past 8:00 P.M.;161 (3) A minor between six months and two years old shall not start work before 7:00 A.M.,162 shall not work more than two hours per day, shall not be at a location for more than four163 hours per day, and shall not work past 7:00 P.M.;164 (4) A minor between two and six years old shall not start work before 7:00 A.M., shall165 not work more than three hours per day, shall not be at a location for more than six hours166 per day, and shall not work past 7:00 P.M.;167 (5) A minor between six and nine years old shall not start work before 7:00 A.M., shall168 not work more than four hours per day, shall not be at a locati on for more than eight169 hours per day, and shall not work past 10:00 P.M.;170 (6) A minor between nine and 16 years old shall not start work before 7:00 A.M., shall171 not work more than five hours per day, shall not be at a location for more than ten hours172 per day, and shall not work past 10:00 P.M. on a school night o r 12:30 A.M. on a173 nonschool night; and174 H. B. 418 - 7 - 25 LC 52 0612 (7) A minor who is 16 or 17 years old shall not start work bef ore 7:00 A.M., shall not175 work more than eight hours per day, shall not be at a location for more than 12 hours per176 day, and shall not work past 10:00 P.M. on a school night or 12:30 A.M. on a nonschool177 night.178 (c) The Commissioner of Labor is authorized to make limited exceptions to the scheduling179 restrictions provided for in paragraph (7) of subsection (b) of this Code section for unique180 child performers, circumstances, or events only."181 SECTION 4.182 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law183 without such approval.184 SECTION 5.185 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.186 H. B. 418 - 8 -