NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7218A
SPONSOR: Jaffee
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
tanning facilities
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To prohibit children under the age of 18 from using tanning facilities;
removes procedures to grant 17 to 18 year olds access to tanning booths.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 3550 of the public health law, as added by Chapter 378 of the
laws of 1990, is amended to prohibit a person under the age of 18 from
using indoor tanning facilities.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most diag-
nosed cancer in the United States. About 95,400 invasive skin cancers
will be diagnosed in the US, and more than 87,000 of these will be of
melanoma, the most serious form.
The American Cancer Society has noted that the highest risk for skin
cancer is the use of indoor tanning facilities. World Health Organiza-
tion categorizes tanning devices as its highest cancer risk. It has been
found, that using tanning booths before the age of 35 increases the risk
of melanoma by 59%, squamous cell carcinoma by 67% and basal cell carci-
noma by 29%.
Because the harmful effects of UV exposure accumulate over time, indoor
tanning devices pose a greater risk for teens due to the misleading
claims by the industry. This is one of the many reasons New York
currently prohibits indoor tanning for children under the age of
17(Chapter 105 of 2012).
Recent studies have demonstrated that parental permission laws do not
lower the use of indoor tan facilities amongst youth. On the contrary,
many youth are still able to purchase tanning products which demon-
strates that this initiative is simply not enough. Given these statis-
tics, we must ensure that our teens and children are protected from the
harmful effects of indoor tanning devices.
Currently, The US Food and Drug Administration is reviewing federal
regulations for indoor tanning devices for the first time since 1985.
New York has proven to be proactive in this regard and should, once
again, take definitive steps to prevent this avoidable cancer that takes
the lives of so many New Yorkers.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7218--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 12, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JAFFEE, D'URSO, ORTIZ, JEAN-PIERRE, ABINANTI,
GALEF, LIFTON, STECK, FAHY, O'DONNELL, WOERNER, ROSENTHAL, WILLIAMS,
GJONAJ, GLICK, ARROYO, GOTTFRIED, RAIA, LAVINE, MORELLE, PAULIN, DICK-
ENS, SEAWRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, SIMON -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to tanning facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3550 of the public health law, as added by chapter
2 378 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 3550. Definitions. When used in this article, the following words
4 and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
5 1. "Tanning facility" shall mean any establishment where one or more
6 ultraviolet radiation device is used, offered, or made available for use
7 by any human being, [for which] whether or not a fee is charged, direct-
8 ly or indirectly, but shall not include any facility where any such
9 device is used by a qualified health care professional for treatment of
10 medical conditions.
11 2. "Ultraviolet radiation device" shall mean any equipment which is
12 designed to emit electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength interval of
13 two hundred to four hundred nanometers in air, and which is intended to
14 induce tanning of the human skin through irradiation, including, but not
15 limited to, a sunlamp, tanning booth, or tanning bed.
16 3. "Person" shall mean an individual, corporation, partnership, joint
17 venture, or any business entity.
18 § 2. Section 3555 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 105
19 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
20 § 3555. Restrictions on the use of ultraviolet radiation devices. 1.
21 No owner, operator, or employee of a tanning facility shall permit the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10747-02-7
A. 7218--A 2
1 use of the tanning facility by a person eighteen years of age or older
2 until such person provides a driver's license or other photographic
3 identification card issued by a government entity or educational insti-
4 tution indicating that the individual is at least eighteen years of age
5 and the facility has on file a signed written statement, in a form
6 prescribed by the commissioner, acknowledging that such person has read
7 the warnings required under subdivision two of section thirty-five
8 hundred fifty-four of this article and agrees to wear safety goggles
9 before using an ultraviolet radiation device. Such signed statement of
10 acknowledgment may be retained by the tanning facility off premises
11 provided that an electronic image or facsimile of the original signed
12 statement of acknowledgment is readily available by the owner or employ-
13 ee responsible for the operation of the ultraviolet radiation device of
14 such facility.
15 2. No owner, operator, or employee of a tanning facility shall permit
16 the use of an ultraviolet radiation device by a person [seventeen to]
17 under eighteen years of age [until such person provides the tanning
18 facility with the written consent, in a form prescribed by the commis-
19 sioner, of a parent or legal guardian to use such tanning facility. The
20 parent or legal guardian shall sign such consent form in the presence of
21 the owner of the tanning facility or an employee responsible for the
22 operation of the ultraviolet radiation device of such facility indicat-
23 ing that such parent or guardian has read the warnings required under
24 subdivision two of section thirty-five hundred fifty-four of this arti-
25 cle and that the person seventeen to eighteen years of age agrees to
26 wear safety goggles before using an ultraviolet radiation device. Such
27 original written consent shall be retained by the tanning facility for a
28 period of twelve months and may be retained off premises provided that
29 an electronic image or facsimile of the original signed consent form is
30 readily available by the owner or employee responsible for the operation
31 of the ultraviolet radiation device of such facility.
32 3. A written consent form signed by a parent or legal guardian pursu-
33 ant to subdivision two of this section shall expire twelve months from
34 the date it is signed by the parent or legal guardian. Upon the expira-
35 tion of a written consent form, a new written consent shall be provided
36 in the manner prescribed in subdivision two of this section prior to the
37 use of an ultraviolet radiation device by any person seventeen to eigh-
38 teen years of age.
39 4. No owner, operator, or employee of a tanning facility shall permit
40 the use of an ultraviolet radiation device by persons sixteen years of
41 age and under].
42 3. This section shall be exclusive and shall preempt any contrary
43 local law or ordinance, except that this section shall not preempt or
44 supersede local laws or ordinances imposing additional stricter
45 restrictions on the use and operation of ultraviolet radiation devices
46 at tanning facilities which are in effect prior to the effective date of
47 this section.
48 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.