ALBANY -- Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos says New York will ban youths 16 years old and younger from indoor tanning booths.
The Long Island Republican tells The Associated Press there is a deal between the Senate and the Assembly's Democratic majority. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to support the bill.
The measure was lobbied hard this year by the American Cancer Society, which blames the popularity of tanning booths as a cause of rising cases of skin cancer among young people.
It's a claim disputed by tan ning booth operators, who say the artificial rays produced in the booths are safe if used properly.
New York has been among at least a half-dozen states that barred indoor tanning for children under 14, but allowed 14- to 17-year-olds to so with parental permission.
The bill backed by powerful sponsors in the Assembly and Senate comes at prom time - a peak time for using the booths - and as national headlines and "Saturday Night Live" highlight the case of a deeply tanned New Jersey woman dubbed "tanorexic."
