The Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, has signed legislation that bans anyone under the age of 17 from using a tanning bed and anyone under the age of 14 from receiving a spray tan. This all happened one year after the “Tanning Mom” in the state became news across the country, according to The Clarion Ledger and The Associated Press.
The woman, Patricia Krentcil, was accused of taking her 5-year-old daughter to a tanning booth and charged with child endangerment. The legislation was created in response to this incident. Krentcil was not indicted by a grand jury back in February.
Christie signed the legislation on Monday and it allows 17-year-olds to use tanning salons if they are accompanied by a parent or a guardian on their first visit. The parent or guardian must also consent to the 17-year-old’s use of the tanning bed.
Krentcil was arrested in April of 2012 when officials at her daughter’s school reported burns on the girl’s legs. Laws that were already active in the state ban children under the age of 14 from tanning booths. She denied ever taking her daughter to a tanning bed, claiming she was burned from he sun.
“Everyone says I look so much better less tan,” Krentcil said. “I feel weird and pale.”
“She comes into the room with me, but not the booth,” she told In Touch magazine. “She plays with her Barbie dolls while I tan.”