After years of debate, lawmakers have sent legislation limiting children’s use of artificial tanning beds to Gov. Butch Otter’s desk. HB 177 passed the Senate this evening on a 23-12 vote. Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, said it matches the restrictions on tanning beds, which are linked to skin cancer, particularly for the young, to existing restrictions in Idaho on youngsters getting tattoos, piercings or brandings. “Thirteen and under, you just don’t do it,” Hagedorn said. “Between 14 and 18 you get parental consent. And that’s worked very well for these things, I think it’ll work very well here.”

Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, argued against the bill. “I just still feel this is a parental decision that should be made by the parent,” she said. “I still feel this is taking over, and where do we start and stop? Children are killed in four-wheelers … trampolines. … What about water bottles that sit in the sun and cause cancer, are we going to start saying what we can’t have those?”

Sen. Abby Lee, R-Fruitland, countered, “I think it’s a good bill, I think folks have worked on it for a long time, and I would submit that it’s actually a parents’ rights bill. As a parent of a child between 14 and 18, I have a right to know what my child is doing and I have a right to consent whether or not I want my child to be exposed to something that I think is a risk.” She called the bill “a good step for parents’ rights, and my right as a mother to be informed.”

Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, said he’s a part-owner of an Anytime Fitness center that has tanning beds, and questioned whether the bill would subject him to liability if a customer’s young child snuck in using a parent’s card and used a tanning bed. Hagedorn said no; he said it punishes the person who knowingly facilitates the child getting a tattoo, piercing, branding or artificial tanning bed treatment. HB 177 earlier passed the House on a 47-23 vote.

Here's how the Senate vote broke down:

Voting in favor: Sens. Brackett, Buckner-Webb, Burgoyne, Cameron, Davis, DenHartog, Hagedorn, Heider, Johnson, Jordan, Keough, Lacey, Lakey, Lee, Lodge, Martin, Patrick, Schmidt, Stennett, Thayn, Tippetts, Ward-Engelking, and Winder.

Voting against: Sens. Bair, Bayer, Guthrie, Hill, McKenzie, Mortimer, Nonini, Nuxoll, Rice, Siddoway, Souza, and Vick.