AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a bill Thursday that would prohibit teens younger than age 18 from using tanning beds. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Geoffrey Gratwick, D-Bangor, a physician, pitted Democrats who portrayed it as good public health policy against Republicans who argued that it robbed parents of their rights to make decisions about their children’s lives.

LePage informed legislators Thursday morning that he has vetoed LD 272, An Act to Reduce Youth Cancer Risk.

“This bill does one thing: it tells Maine parents that Augusta knows better than they do when it comes to their children,” LePage wrote. “Instead of the current law that requires parents to give permission to their children tanning, this says that children are banned from it, regardless of what the parent thinks. This is government run amok. Maine parents can make the right decisions for their families.”

This is LePage’s second veto of this legislative session. On Tuesday. he vetoed a bill that would have revised payment systems for registers of deeds. The House voted Wednesday to override that bill, LD 49, but the Senate failed by one vote to muster the two-thirds majority required for an override.