Tanning rules clear committee
JORDAN SCHRADER; Staff writer
An effort to license and regulate tanning parlors is moving ahead in the state Legislature.
HB 2652 cleared its second House committee this week, advancing to beat a key deadline.
Critics of the establishments say they are a danger to people, especially teen girls, who don’t realize they are increasing their risk of skin cancer with regular “fake-and-bake” sessions.
Tacoma has the second-highest density of tanning businesses in the western United States and ranks ninth nationally, Shannon McDonald, executive director of the Washington State Dermatology Association, told the health appropriations committee Thursday before the panel passed the bill on a 10-5 vote.
Critics such as McDonald say it’s no coincidence that Washington also ranked fifth in melanoma rates (that was in 2004; the state ranked eighth in 2005, according to the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention.)
James Curry of the Indoor Tanning Association said the fees lawmakers are proposing are too high, especially since licensing fees have to cover both the cost of the program and a state educational campaign that would warn people of the dangers of indoor tanning.
Other industries with potentially dangerous products aren’t expected to pay for ads against them, he said. Despite the link between red meat and heart disease, he said: “We’re not asking the cattle ranchers to fund a PR campaign.”
Rep. Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, wants the businesses licensed and inspected as they are in all but 11 states. That will make sure operators are qualified, she said.
“In my own observations, in hair salons and nail salons where people whose expertise is hair and nails, that they were also operating tanning beds with no expertise,” Darneille said.
Her bill would require the businesses to warn customers about cancer risks and report injuries to the state.
State rulemakers would set other boundaries for the tanning parlors, things such as age restrictions and limits on the amount of time customers can tan, Darneille said.
Refiners not likely to like tax
Environmentalists are pushing a higher pollution tax that’s destined to stir up big opposition from oil refiners.
The proposal was unveiled Friday at the Legislature. It would significantly raise an existing tax on some environmentally hazardous substances, such as oil products.
If approved, supporters say the tax increase could raise about $225 million a year. The plan is to send most of the money to the state’s general fund for a few years, to help balance the budget. But it also would pay for water cleanup projects.
