The Senate Health & Welfare Committee is holding its hearing on HB 486a, the tanning-bed bill, in a different room than  normal, WW 55, because another committee meeting in its regular hearing room went long. So far, committee Chairwoman Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, and Vice Chair Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle, have had sharp questions about the proposal and expressed considerable skepticism.

Joseph Levy of Denver, executive director of the International Smart Tan Network, representing tanning salons, is now testifying. He called previous testimony from an Idaho dermatologist and others a "gross misrepresentation," saying melanoma is not increasing in young women but in older men. He told the committee, "Indoor tanning salons do not increase risk."

He said, "If this bill is enacted, teenagers will just use home units," which he said are more dangerous than tanning beds in salons. "You would create a garage tanning industry."