CONNECTICUT
Carrying over from last year’s legislative session is SB317. If passed,
it would require parental consent for minors 16 and under to tan. The
bill is currently pending in the state’s Senate, and the ITA has representatives
in Connecticut who are closely monitoring this situation.
GEORGIA
After working hard in Georgia’s House of Representatives, the ITA is proud
to report some good news in that state. House Bill 702, sponsored by Rep.
Karla Drenner, died in committee. There was another attempt to pass a
study bill, which would have held a public hearing to discuss the need
to regulate the industry; but this, too, died in committee. HB702 attempted
to set a maximum exposure time of 15 minutes for all salons in the state,
while the remainder was a basic licensing bill that called for parental
consent for persons under 18, and required parents to accompany teens
under 14 to the salon if they wished to allow them to tan.
IOWA
Some legislation the ITA is not happy with has recently surfaced in Iowa’s
Senate. After House Bill 2738 – which called for a ban for tanners 15
and younger – died in committee, a bill with the same tanning restrictions
- Senate Bill 5160 - popped up in the state’s Senate. Cheri Cosgrove,
owner of the Tan World franchise, contacted the ITA regarding this new
bill, and the organization plans to closely monitor it.
MARYLAND
The ITA is proud to report some good news from the state of Maryland.
After John Overstreet, Jim Shepherd (ITA Board Member/UV Foundation President)
and three Maryland tanning salon owners attended a public hearing to discuss
House Bill 1226, sponsored by Delegate Anne Healey, the bill died in committee.
The bill called for requiring either a doctor’s prescription or parental
consent for persons under 14 to tan. It also would require posting of
warning signs in salon lobbies, as well as every tanning room, and for
salons to provide free eyewear.
MICHIGAN
A licensing program under the title House Bill 4580 is currently being
considered in Michigan. The bill, introduced by Representative Frank Accavitti,
Jr., does not call for any kind of ban; rather, it would require written,
informed parental consent for all tanners under the age of 18, and would
require tanners to use eye protection. Although the ITA considers the
bill relatively straightforward, its members in the “Great Lakes State”
continue to watch it closely.
MINNESOTA
Good news in Minnesota – the ITA reports that Senate Bill SF2566 recently
died in committee. Sponsored by Senator Charles W. Wiger, the bill called
for “advanced safety training” for all salon operators, and parental consent
for all tanners under the age of 18. A similar bill – H3519 – also recently
died in the state’s House committee.
MISSISSIPPI
The ITA reports that two proposed bills that would have affected indoor
tanning in Mississippi recently died in committee. HB 646 would have increased
licensing fees from $35-$45 per device. HB 1442 would have added requirements
to the existing licensing requirements, including parental consent for
14-17 year olds, a ban on tanners under 14, and 30-day validity of parental
consent.
NEW JERSEY
ITA representatives are busy in New Jersey with two proposed bills. The
most recent is Senate Bill S1225, which would prohibit minors under 14
from using tanning facilities, and require written parental consent for
minors 14-18. The bill is pending, and the ITA has representatives in
New Jersey who are working closely on it.
The ITA is also monitoring Assembly Bill No. 352, sponsored by Assemblyman
Larry Chatzidakis. If passed, it would require tanning facilities to “conspicuously”
post a warning notice in each room that states the “dangers of using tanning
equipment.” The notice shall state that tanning can be hazardous to a
person’s health and may cause skin cancer and long-term eye damage. The
warning would also state that tanning has no known health benefits and
prolonged exposure to UVA and UVB light may cause damage to the skin and
eyes.
NEW YORK
Although it died in session last year, proposed bill S.2602/A5733, sponsored
by Sen. Charles J. Fushchillo, Jr., is back again for consideration in
New York. The proposal calls for a ban on tanning for persons under the
age of 14. It also requires signed parental consent for teens age 14-17,
with the consent valid for only one calendar year.
OKLAHOMA
The ITA is happy to report that Oklahoma’s Senate bill 2050 recently died
in committee. The bill, authored by Senator Laughlin and known as the
“Oklahoma Tanning Facilities Practice Act,” proposed a licensing program
to be administered by the state’s department of health. If it had passed,
every salon in the state would have had 90 days to file for a permit to
operate a tanning salon, which would cost $250. The bill also called for
a $150 annual permit renewal fee for all salons.
PENNSYLVANIA
Although HB 548 was stalled in committee when the Pennsylvania Legislature’s
2004 session ended, the ITA is sure this bill will rear its head this
year. If passed, HB 109 would require tanners to provide the salon with
a list of all the medications they’re taking, and the salon employee would
then be required to determine if any of the medications are photosensitive.
It also calls for restrictions on teen tanning. If passed, the bill could:
- Require people 14 years old and younger to be accompanied by a parent
or legal guardian when using a tanning device.
- Require any person 14-18 years of age to provide the tanning facility
with a statement signed by the parent or legal guardian that the parent
has read and understands the warnings given by the tanning facility, consents
to the minor’s use of a tanning device and agrees that the minor will
use protective eyewear provided by the tanning facility.
- Require multiple warning signs to be posted throughout the salon, next
to every tanning unit and on the walls in each tanning room.
The ITA believes this bill is excessive, which is why the organization
is opposed to it. They encourage all Pennsylvania salon pros and distributors
to get involved in this issue by contacting their representatives and
urging them to vote against HB 109.
SOUTH CAROLINA
In South Carolina, the state agency responsible for licensing, regulating
and inspecting tanning units wants out. Thus, SC H 3833 – a bill that
would eliminate the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control’s
reviews of tanning bed safety if passed. The South Carolina DHEC supports
the bill, which has passed the House and is pending in committee in the
Senate.
Strength in Numbers
While indoor tanning’s enemies are many and powerful, this industry can
stand against them if it stands together. The ITA and IST urge all salon
owners to contact the ITA to become involved with any regulatory battles
in your state. The more people who let their voices be heard by standing
up against unfair tanning regulations, the more the lawmakers are apt
to listen. Indoor tanning is how all of us earn our living, so it’s up
to the tanning professionals to protect this industry from becoming over-regulated
to the point of extinction.
