A proposed law would allow Utah teenagers to work on their golden tans through the state's dreary winter months, but not without their parents' approval.

A Senate committee on Thursday unanimously approved SB52, sponsored by Sen. Pat Jones, D-Salt Lake, requiring in-person parental consent before anyone younger than 18 can visit a Utah tanning salon.

"It makes them more informed and more in control of what their children are doing," said Jones, noting that health concerns are her primary motivation for running the bill.

"There is no such thing as a safe tan," said Charles Harpe, a Layton physician who serves on the Davis County board of health. "That is a myth and it's not true."

Davis County already requires parental consent each time teenagers want to tan in the county, although teens often skirt the regulation by crossing county lines, said Lewis Garrett, county health department director.

"It is, in our view, a bad thing that Davis County students and children can drive a few minutes north to Weber County or a few minutes south to Salt Lake County," he said.

A statewide parental-consent requirement would make things much more fair, Garrett said.

Jones' legislation is expected to also level the competitive playing field between Davis and surrounding counties, a welcome move for Davis County business owners.

Brian Moser, owner of Tanning Oasis salons in Layton and Roy, said he lost customers in Layton and saw a slight customer increase at his Roy salon, which is in Weber County, after the Davis County regulations went into effect last May.

"We're glad to see it's fallen into the hands of legislators who are responsible to their citizens," Moser said. "We feel really good about the regulation. To have a parent come in every year is acceptable middle ground."

SB52 has looser restrictions than Davis County regulations, which require parents to accompany their minor children to the tanning salon each time they wish to tan. Jones' bill would require parents to sign a consent form every 12 months at each tanning salon their children may patronize. It also allows them to specify the number of tanning sessions allowed in each year-long period.

Jones' bill is pre-emptive, meaning Davis County would have to follow the less-restrictive state rules. Martin Harder, owner of Harder's Hairport in Sunset, said he lost 90 percent of his tanning clientele, about a quarter of whom were minors, with the imposition of the parental consent rules.

SB52 is supported by both the Utah Medical Association and the Huntsman Cancer Hospital, whose chief operating officer, Ben Tanner, on Thursday testified about the dangers of tanning booths.

"This is analogous to allowing teenagers to smoke cigarettes," Tanner said.

Nearly 40 states already regulate minors' use of tanning salons, he said.

"We're a little bit behind the ball here," Tanner said. "We support this 100 percent and we would support even stronger regulation."

According to Thursday's testimony, skin cancer rates, particularly instances of malignant melanoma, have grown with increased usage of indoor tanning beds, which have ultraviolet rays at least twice that of the summer sun.

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