Senate Bill S7013

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7013

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the public health law, in relation
to prohibiting the operation of tanning facilities and the sale of
ultraviolet radiation devices; and to repeal certain provisions of the
public health law and the general business law relating to ultraviolet
radiation devices

 PURPOSE :  To prohibit the operation of tanning facilities, and the
sale or offering for sale of ultraviolet radiation device punishable
as a criminal offense.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :  Section 1. Repeals sections 3551, 3552,
3553, 3554, and 3555 of the public health which conflict with a new
section 3551 that amends the public health law to provide that no
person operate a tanning facility or sell or offer for sale any
ultraviolet radiation device.  Any violation of this subdivision is
defined as a class A misdemeanor.

Section 2. Repeals section 392-g of the general business law.

 EXISTING LAW :  Section 3551 of the public health law requires an
operator of a tanning facility to have a license.

Section 3552 of the public health law relates to the conditions
causing annulment, suspension, or revocation of the license of a
              

tanning facility operator.

Section 3553 of the public health law relates to the collection of
fees with and their deposit in the ultraviolet radiation devices
program account within the special revenue fund.

Section 3554 of the public health law provides for the rights of the
commissioner including but not limited to the right to inspect each
tanning facility, collect a biennial fee for inspection, and
promulgate rules and regulations related to hygiene, safety, and
dissemination of information.

Section 3555 of the public health law restricts the use of ultraviolet
radiation devices to individuals eighteen years of age or older who
have signed a written consent that they acknowledge the warnings of
using such a device and agree to wear safety goggles as prescribed by
law. It further provides that no owner, operator, or employee of a
tanning facility shall permit the use of an ultraviolet radiation
device by a person fourteen to eighteen years of without written
consent by his/her legal guardian. Such consent also includes an
acknowledgement of the aforementioned warnings. The law provides for
expiration of such consent forms and completely bans the use of
ultraviolet radiation devices by persons under the age of fourteen.

Section 392-g of the general business law relates to the sale of
ultraviolet radiation devices. It restricts the offer for sale of any
ultraviolet radiation device, be it in a tanning facility or for
personal use, without a conspicuous label with a warning stating the
health hazards associated with tanning. The law requires that each
device must be accompanied with safety goggles and an easy to use
on/off switch. Civil penalties are provided for any violation of the
requirements set forth in the section.

 JUSTIFICATION :  Per the American Cancer Society (ACS), people ages
thirty-five or younger who used tanning beds regularly had a melanoma
risk eight-times higher than people who never used tanning beds.
Further, according to the ACS, occasional use resulted in almost a
triple chance of developing melanoma over one's lifetime. The American
Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA) reports that melanoma is the
most common form of cancer for young adults between the ages of
twenty-five and twenty-nine years old and the second most common form
of cancer for adolescents and young adults ages fifteen to twenty-nine
years old. In fact, the AADA indicates that using tanning beds before
the age of thirty-five increases one's risk for melanoma by seventy
five percent.

On an average day in the United States, the AADA reports that more
than one million people tan in tanning salons and nearly seventy
percent are girls and women. In these large tanning salons, tanning
beds have UVA irradiation intensity that can be ten to fifteen times
higher than that of the midday sun. In a study conducted by the AADA,
the density of indoor tanning salons in the top one hundred and
sixteen cities in the United States amounted to a mean number of
facilities equaling 41.8. It was noted that seventy-six percent of
teenagers in the cities studied lived within two miles of a tanning
salon.

Given the significant health risks associated with tanning beds and
the widespread availability of them, it is imperative that New York
State address access to such equipment in order to ensure the health
and safety of our citizens.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :  None.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :  Undetermined.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :  Undetermined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :  This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day
after it shall have become a law.