Minors who want to use an indoor tanning salon would have to bring a parent with them, under a bill that is nearing final approval in the General Assembly. That prospect brought out some spirited discussion and some strong opinions in the Senate Tuesday.

The bill made its way toward final passage in the Senate, and has already cleared the House. But many wondered if the state should extend its reach into the world of tanning.

Sen. James Brochin, a Baltimore County Democrat, said he knows from previous experience as a tennis pro that the sun can be just as harmful as indoor tanning. Others, who supported the bill, said they were looking for less anecdotal evidence.

Minority Leader David Brinkley asked floor leader John Astle how the parental consent rules stack up to the state’s parental notification laws on abortion.

“I didn’t see anything in the bill about that,” Astle said, eliciting laughter throughout the chamber.

But Astle, in response to another question, outlined some comparable laws in states such as California, Florida, and Connecticut. He said the law would probably have the most significant effect in the arctic climes of southern New England, where there’s little sunlight and the days are short.

“The tanning [beds] are probably somewhat important up there, if you’re concerned about that look,” he said.

A bill that would change the definition of beer to include flavored malt beverages has created a little bit of controversy.

It’s all about the taxes. Malt beverages, like Smirnoff Ice, are taxed as spirits, while beer is taxed at a lower rate. Opponents of the bill — who call these “youth-targeted alcopops” don’t want to reduce the price of those drinks because they think they appeal to an underage audience.

The bill has passed the Senate and is awaiting House action.

I called a few Annapolis-area liquor stores to check how these things compare. It’s actually pretty substantial, though I don’t profess to have done any scientific surveying.

Smirnoff Ice ranges around $8 per six pack, while Budweiser is generally less than $6.

Now about the argument … I can’t tell if it’s true that flavored malt beverages really are a bigger draw for younger drinkers. I would never drink one because they are revolting and they give me heartburn, and I’ve known that for years.

Environmentalists are looking to the House of Delegates to move forward with an ambitions plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 90 percent. The Senate is working through an emission reducing bill, but it has been stripped down to take some authority away from the Maryland Department of the Environment. The MDE would oversee the reduction plan.

Business and industrial groups have warned that mandatory reduction could cripple Maryland’s economy, especially if Maryland has tougher emissions limits than competing states.

Monday morning, The Alliance for Global Warming Solutions, a group made up of Maryland environmental organizations advocating for the bill, got creative in punctuating their point. They drew a chalk line across the center of Main Street in Annapolis, which they said illustrates the potential reach of the Chesapeake Bay if there was a sea level rise around 20 feet.

It was a striking visual, a thick blue line that nearly reached Chick & Ruth’s Delly, a popular State House dining destination. Anne Arundel County police hovered nearby to make sure the line got washed off the historic brick street when the demonstration was done.

The bill could come to a final vote in the Senate late Monday. I’ll keep you posted.

Above: Claire Douglass, the Maryland Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, painted a blue line in chalk across Main street in downtown Annapolis to illustrate a projected 20 foot rise in sea level and the future waterline of the Chesapeake Bay if the Greenland ice sheet melts. (AP Photo/Jamie C. Horton)

Be careful when you’re hooking up to a wireless connection that is not your own. The state of Maryland is on to your little game.

Slashdot.com reports that the General Assembly is considering a bill that would punish people who knowingly surf the Web on someone else’s dime.

I thought this was already technically illegal, but this bill would impose a penalty of up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000.

The Hagerstown Herald-Mail reported that the bill’s sponsor, Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr, intended it to clarify accidental versus intentional use.

I’ll keep my eye on this, but I wonder how many people are guilty of the practice. I know I tried it in college. But what’s the harm really? Bandwidth is valuable, but couldn’t this be dealt with by blocking access with a password?

Illegal immigration foe Del. Don Dwyer attempted to call federal immigration officers to a House hearing Wednesday.

He had warned what he called a “largely Hispanic audience” that his staff had called Immigration and Customs Enforcement to a hearing on HB 288. The bill would require people to show that they are citizens or legally present in the United States before they can get a driver’s license or identification card.

Here’s a quote from a news release from Dwyer:

“If you are here illegally, you might want to leave safely but quickly because there has been a request for a Federal investigation.”

The release added, however, that the agents declined to come in the absence of “proof of a specific crime.”

I’m bracing for a Wednesday full of computer services tax protests, expecting a mob of IT folks and programmers to take over Annapolis for a day of hearings on whether to repeal a pending 6 percent sales tax on their businesses.

But that isn’t the only industry that’s trying to fight off a tax increase tomorrow. A bill in the House would place a tax on tanning salons and deposit the more than $500,000 it would raise into a health care fund.

The Indoor Tanning Association has not taken a shine to this idea (get it?), and is imploring its members to let their lawmakers hear it tomorrow. The association is also sounding alarms about another bill that would require minors who want an indoor tan to have a prescription or be accompanied by a parent or guardian. That bill got a favorable report from the House Economic Matters Committee on Monday.

I may have passed on some misleading information about the Orphans’ Court proposal that failed in the house last week. Del. Pat McDonough reported that he killed a proposed constitutional amendment that would mandate that only attorneys could be Orphan’s Court judges.

But a closer reading of the bill here at The Daily Record shows that it wouldn’t restrict judgeships to lawyers. It would just allow the General Assembly to add new restrictions for Orphans’ Court judges in different jurisdictions.

Now the proposed amendment could potentially be used to restrict those judgeships to attorneys, but there’s nothing that specific in the proposal itself. There was a bill proposed in 2007 that would have required Orphans’ Court judges to have a law degree. Even that bill would not have required the judges to be attorneys, though.

I asked Del. McDonough about this, and he said the bill is “enabling legislation” that will allow lawyers to use their influence to take over the Orphan’s Court. He thinks the system is fine and shouldn’t be changed.

“This is another attempt by lawyers to take control of a part of our government by making it exclusive for them,” McDonough said.

Republicans scored a recent victory in the House, twice blocking a bill on the verge of final passage.

The bill was a constitutional amendment that would have required elected judges in the Maryland Orphans’ Courts to be attorneys. Bills rarely come to the floor for a third and final reading unless members of leadership believe they have the votes to pass them.

Del. Pat McDonough, Republican of Baltimore and Harford counties, took credit for the bill’s failure in news release issued Friday. McDonough thinks an accountant would probably be the best profession for the Orphans’ Court job because those judges mainly handle estate issues

A constitutional amendment needs the support of three-fifths of both legislative chambers, but it failed by five votes on Thursday. The House reconsidered the measure Friday but it failed by one vote.

But the issue may not be dead. The Senate will bring the bill to the floor for a second reading next week.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. wants to step up state research spending for nanotechnology by supporting a bill to create a “Coordinating Nanobio-Technology Research in Maryland Program,” which would request $5 million per year in spending.

The program would be overseen by the Maryland Technology Development Council.

According to a release from Miller’s office, “nanobiology uses nanotechnology (really small machines) in the fields of physical science, molecular engineering, biology, chemistry and biotechnology and holds considerable promise of advances in pharmaceuticals and healthcare.”

This might have some promise, notwithstanding the price tag. But if you’re scared of gray goo, a doomsday scenario where runaway nanobots reproduce beyond human control (I kind of am), maybe this article will put your mind at ease. Maybe not.

Oh, there are so many task force reports to thumb through this year. And even with all the electric, mortgage and other reforms the General Assembly wants to achieve, we should be sure not to forget our wine industry.

Lawmakers are still working on the recommendations of the Maryland Wine and Grape Advisory Committee, formed in 2004.

The committee made several recommendations in its report, suggesting ways to make our vintners more competitive. On Monday, the House heard a bill to address one recommendation, which would allow wineries to ship directly to customers.

Check out HB 1260. Any thoughts?