Bill Banning Minors From Tanning Beds Dies in Senate
The Senate on Friday voted 9-19 to defeat a bill (AB 2193) that would have prohibited people younger than age 18 from using indoor tanning booths without a doctor's prescription, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/3). Under the bill, tanning salon owners would have been fined $2,500 per day for allowing minors to use their facilities. Current state law prohibits children younger than age 14 from using tanning booths unless accompanied by a parent. Individuals between ages 14 and 18 years old may tan only with a permission slip from a parent. Officials from the California Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, which supported the legislation, say tanning salons are partly responsible for the one million cases of skin cancer diagnosed annually and the 7,400 deaths each year from melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer (California Healthline, 5/21). According to the Chronicle, several Democrats who originally supported the legislation changed their positions before the vote (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/8). The Senate agreed to reconsider the legislation, proposed by Assembly member Joe Nation (D-San Rafael), which would "clea[r] the way for lawmakers to take it up again" if supporters decide to pursue a second vote, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports (AP/Contra Costa Times, 7/3).
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