BY MAUREEN HAYDEN
CNHI
INDIANAPOLIS —
Indiana lawmakers are considering a bill that would require teenagers who want to be spray-tanned in the nude to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The bill also requires anyone younger than 18 to have written approval from a parent or guardian to be spray-tanned, much like the current state law that requires parental approval for minors using indoor tanning booths.
The bill was filed by state Rep. Bruce Borders, a Republican from Jasonville, in response to an incident that occurred at a Linton tanning salon. The salon owner, who is male, applied a spray-on suntan chemical to a nude 15-year-old girl, who had forged a permission note from her mother.
During a hearing on the bill Thursday, Borders said the incident occurred during prom season and the salon owner told him he was “swamped with teenage clients and couldn’t wait for his wife to return to apply the chemical spray.”
Borders found out about the incident when the girl’s mother contacted him after she was told by police that no crime had occurred. Borders said the Indiana State Police told him the same thing.
“The current laws don’t cover this,” Borders told committee members.
The bill would prohibit anyone younger than 18 from getting a spray tan application without a written permission statement signed by a parent or guardian in the presence of the owner, operator or employee of the spray-tanning business.
It also requires a parent or guardian to be present if the minor is fully or partially exposed during the spray-tanning application. The legislation would also require the spray tan to be applied by a person of the same gender as the minor, if the minor is fully or partially exposed.
Violating the law would carry a fine of up to $500 for the first offense; up to $1,000 for a second offense. No vote was taken on the bill; it’s expected to come up for a vote at a later committee hearing.
— Maureen Hayden is the Statehouse bureau chief for the CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
