HBA-CCH H.B. 663 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 663 By: Lewis, Ron Public Health 3/4/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to the American Academy of Dermatology, skin cancer is the most common and rapidly increasing cancer in the United States. In 1997, an estimated one million new cases of skin cancer were diagnosed, including more than 40,000 cases of malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to sun exposure and severe sunburns at an early age may increase the risk for skin cancer later in life. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now includes solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation and exposure to sunlamps and sunbeds as human carcinogens. Furthermore, many dermatologists conclude that artificial tanning equipment inflicts more damage in less time than unprotected exposure to sunlight. In Texas, there are approximately seventeen hundred licensed tanning facilities. Current law regulating tanning facilities needs to be amended to account for new information regarding the tremendous increase in cases of skin cancer and the damage of UV rays on children and teenagers. House Bill 663 requires tanning facilities and the Texas Department of Health to provide information about the dangers of tanning, and prohibits persons younger than 18 years of age from using a tanning device. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill expressly delegates rulemaking authority to the Texas Board of Health in SECTION 3 (Section 145.006, Health and Safety Code), SECTION 4 (Section 145.008, Health and Safety Code), and SECTION 5 (Section 145.010, Health and Safety Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 663 amends the Health and Safety Code provisions regulating tanning facilities. The bill requires a tanning facility to provide each customer a written statement warning that a person with pale eyes, very fair skin, or a family history of skin cancer should avoid a tanning device (Sec. 145.005). H.B. 663 requires the Texas Department of Health (TDH) to maintain a toll-free telephone number that a customer may call to report an injury resulting from a tanning device or incurred at a tanning facility (Sec. 145.015). The bill also requires a tanning facility to state on posted warning signs that a customer may call TDH at a toll-free number to report an injury. The bill also requires a tanning facility to post a magnified color photograph on or near each warning sign that shows the lesions of a person with basal cell carcinoma, a person with squamous cell carcinoma, and a person with malignant melanoma. The Texas Board of Health (board) is required to describe, by rule, each photograph, posting requirements, and how an operator of a tanning facility may obtain copies of photographs (Sec. 145.006). The bill prohibits anyone younger than 18 years of age from using a tanning device, and removes provisions regarding the need for minors to obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian. The bill provides that a person present photo identification when using a facility's tanning device for the first time or when executing or renewing a contract (Sec. 145.008). The bill requires TDH to provide each applicant for an original or renewal license a written copy of the Fitzpatrick scale for classifying skin types. The bill requires a tanning facility's records of each customer to include the customer's eye color and skin type based on the Fitzpatrick scale, and whether the customer has a past medical or family history of skin cancer. An operator of a tanning facility is required to keep and maintain an incident log at each facility for three years after an incident. The board is required to prescribe, by rule, the form and content of the log that is required to list each injury, customer not wearing protective eyewear, mechanical problem with a tanning device, and customer complaint (Sec. 145.008). The bill requires TDH to conduct an education program to inform the public about the dangers of tanning (Sec. 145.014). The bill requires the board, by rule, to increase the license fee collected to allow TDH to recover its costs in implementing the education program (Sec. 145.010). TDH is authorized to accept a gift, grant, or donation to be used in administering the program (Sec. 145.014). TDH is required to adopt rules regarding the posting of a warning sign, tanning facility records and logs, and for the license fee increase no later than November 1, 2001. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.