1. Please feel free to make changes to the letter below.

Senator Tom Torlakson Chair, Senate Committee on Appropriations State Capitol, Room 5050 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Senator Torlakson, I OPPOSE SB 1765 (Kuehl), as introduced February 22, 2008, which, although focused on the entertainment industry, poses a serious threat for all industries who contract and enter into collective bargaining agreements and could be the next to be singled out similarly. Undoes an arms-length contract. SB 1765 attempts to rewrite a recently-reached collective bargaining agreement. The bill dictates contract terms that were discussed and rejected in negotiations leading to the collective bargaining agreement that brought an end to the recent and highly-publicized writer’s strike. In these negotiations, each side was represented by sophisticated and knowledgeable lawyers. Mandates vague new price controls. SB 1765 forces motion picture and television producers who hold licensing rights pursuant to contract to sell or license the rights according to the price control dictated in SB 1765 –“fair market value” – which is vaguely defined. The lengthy definition of “fair market value” is filled with ambiguous words and phrases, making its determination subjective and arbitrary. Creates significant potential liability exposure and litigation. SB 1765 makes violation of this new ambiguous mandate a basis for criminal and civil liability under California’s unfair practices law, meaning that businesses can be on the hook for criminal penalties as well as treble damages and attorneys’ fees. I believe SB 1765 will ultimately harm all of the parties to licensing contracts by stifling the healthy, market-driven distribution and flow of licensed products and generating costly litigation. Changing contract terms through legislation renders meaningless the public policies of stability and predictability that undergird the right and motivation to contract. And when the contract is a collective bargaining agreement, the integrity of the collective bargaining process is destroyed. I believe adoption of SB 1765 will establish a dangerous precedent that threatens the contract rights of all industries.

2. Type your name*

3. Type your job title

4. Type your organization name

5. Type your email or phone*

6. Click "eMAIL!" and we will send your letter!

*mandatory