Pending State Legislation

The beginning of 2009 has proved to be very busy in the state capitals—22 different bills were introduced in 19 states. Experience has taught us that there are two key ingredients to any successful state fight: hiring local people to represent the industry and making sure that the businesses that would be affected by legislation are involved.

Every state is different and having local counsel can help us keep track of legislative developments—for example, in South Dakota, a bill was introduced this year that started out as a fairly straightforward requirement for parental consent, which the ITA strongly supports. However, as this bill moved through the legislature, two separate efforts were made to ban anyone under 18. Fortunately these amendments failed and the bill ultimately died in the Senate. But the lesson here is clear: If the industry is not involved, unexpected things can happen.

Here is a recap of pending state legislative measures:

Florida: S 546 (under-16 ban), H 771 (under-16 ban)

Hawaii: HB 653 (parental consent under 18)

Indiana: H 1573 (additional inspections)

Kansas: KS 101 (under-14 ban)

Maine: S 137 (doctor’s prescription under 18)

Massachusetts: Unnumbered bill (under-16 ban)

Mississippi: S 214 (under-14 ban; for ages 14-17, consent only valid for 90 days), S 1025 (licensing)

Missouri: H 352 (under-16 ban, additional warnings)

Montana: S 357 (parental consent under 16 that is good for 12 visits)

New Mexico: S 513 (under-14 ban)

Nevada: AB 150 (licensing and registration)

Oklahoma: S 1171 (licensing, inspections, under-13 ban), S 554 (under-13 ban, parent must be present while those ages 13-15 tan, parental consent required for those ages 16-17)

Pennsylvania: Bill being drafted

Utah: H 419 (10-percent tax on tanning services to fund melanoma research)

Vermont: H 53 (under-18 ban)

Washington: Bill being drafted

Source:

Indoor Tanning Association