Date: 22nd February 2001

Proposed Utah Law To Fine Theatres Set Aside


A Utah legislator has dropped his effort to push through a law that would have made it illegal for a theater to allow minors into R-rated movies unaccompanied by an adult.

As reported by the online entertainment magazine Inside, Rep. David L. Hogue altered his bill after an MPAA lobbyist pointed out that the law would not be able to pass constitutional muster and that it would encourage the industry not to rate films that would ordinarily receive an R rating. Hogue's bill now calls for theater owners to be fined if they allow teens into movies that violate the "harmful to minors" statute already on the books in Utah. The MPAA lobbyist told Inside: "The chances of finding a studio movie that meets the 'harmful to minors' standard are virtually none."

Source: Studio Briefing