A proposal to ban minors from using tanning salons without a doctor’s prescription faded out Friday when lawmakers instead voted to require notarized parental permission.
Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora, amended his bill after realizing he did not have the votes to pass it.
The new version would require the state board of health to create a form explaining the cancer risks linked to tanning. Parents of children under 18 would have to sign the form at the tanning salon or have it notarized.
Tanning parlors caught letting a teen tan without parental permission would have to pay a $200 fine, and anyone who forged a signature could be charged with a misdemeanor.
If the legislation passes, Colorado would join 25 other states that require parental permission for under-age tanning. The bill was given an initial OK in the Senate.
Hagedorn said he had hoped to do more to protect “young people who are still growing” from “deep-penetrating ultraviolet radiation.”
Colorado has skin cancer rates higher than the national average, according to dermatologists who supported Hagedorn’s original bill.
Republican Sens. Shawn Mitchell of Broomfield and Dave Schultheis of Colorado Springs failed during a committee hearing 10 days earlier to amend the bill to allow teens to tan with parental consent.
Several Republicans said Senate Bill 23 infringed on parental rights.
Numerous tanning parlor owners and the Indoor Tanning Association also opposed the legislation.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
