Little more than two months after taking office, California Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Redondo Beach, has proposed a new state law banning teens from indoor tanning salons.
The "cancer-protection" bill, SB 746, will undergo its first review today (April 28). Its first policy test will be Monday, May 2, with a hearing before the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee.
The health and safety measure intends to protect those under 18 from ultraviolet rays that have been linked to skin cancer, according to a statement from Lieu's office.
Current state law bars those under age 14 from using ultraviolet tanning devices, but permits those 14-18 to use the beds with permission of their parent or legal guardian.
Research, and recent studies, however, show those who use tanning beds before age 35 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma by 75 percent.
Lieu will hold a press conference on the legislation in Sacramento at 11:30 a.m. today in room 1190 on the ground floor of the state capitol. The bill is sponsored by the California Society of Dermatology & Dermatological Surgery and the Aim at Melanoma Foundation.
Lieu assumed office in late February after a special election was held to replace the late Jenny Oropeza.
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