New Key State Legislative and Regulatory Developments

Earlier this month, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy (D) signed a barbering bill – SB 985 – to authorize the Department of Public Health (DPH) to substitute an approved apprenticeship program for the 1,000-hour course of study at a Connecticut Examining Board for Barbers, Hairdressers, and Cosmeticians approved school.  According to an official summary of the bill, the Act, effective October 1, 2015, requires the barber apprenticeship program to conform to existing apprenticeship law, which requires:

1. "each apprentice to work at and learn a specific trade under a written agreement with an employer or an employer-employee joint apprenticeship committee;
2. the agreement to be for at least 2,000 hours of work in approved trade training consistent with the industry or joint labor-industry standards, plus supplemental hours of related instruction;
3. the Connecticut State Apprenticeship Council to oversee all apprenticeship programs and issue certificates of completion for those who successfully complete a program; and
4. participating employers and apprentices to annually register with the Labor Department."

The Examining Board for Barbers, Hairdressers, and Cosmeticians will be discussing this Act at their June 22nd meeting in Hartford.  AACS has been informed that several school owners will be attending the Board meeting to discuss the effects of this law, particularly pertaining to health and safety as apprentices no longer need to go to school to learn about diseases, infection control procedures, etc.

 

Next door in Rhode Island, A revised budget bill that proposes to make a number of changes to the state’s cosmetology Act has been released.  First, HB 5900A eliminates the requirement for instructor licensure.  Second, the bill eliminates six-day demonstrator’s permits.  Third, it revises electrolysis licensing by allowing the Department of Health to establish training requirements by rule and regulation.  Finally, the measure removes the term "apprentice barber."  However, individuals with an "affidavit or affidavits of from his or her employer or former employers or other reasonably satisfactory evidence showing that the applicant has, in order to learn the art of barbering, worked for a minimum of two (2) years under the supervision of a barber who has been licensed in the state for at least three (3) years" would be eligible for a barber’s license.  Please see the link below for additional information.

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill to deregulate "natural hair braiding."  House Bill 2717, which went in to effect upon receiving the Governor’s signature on June 8th, eliminates licensure requirements for individuals performing "only natural hair braiding, including braiding a person's hair, trimming hair extensions only as applicable to the braiding process, and attaching commercial hair by braiding and without the use of chemicals or adhesives."  The measure also requires the Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) to issue a refund to a person holding a barber or cosmetology hair braiding certificate, hair braiding instructor license, or hair braiding specialty shop license immediately before the effective date of the bill. 

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval (R) signed AB 409 and SB 370 last week.  AB 409, which became effective upon receiving the Governor’s signature, exempts makeup artists from the definition of "cosmetology."  While makeup artists will not be required to obtain any specialized training, the measure requires them to "register" before being allowed to practice in a "cosmetological establishment." 

SB 370 stipulates that a "barber school will be owned and operated by at least two instructors."  It also requires the State Barbers’ Health and Sanitation Board to oversee the barbering instructor licensing examination – both a practical demonstration and a written test – but prohibits the Board from administering any part of the examination.  Instead, the Board must contract with a national organization to administer the examination and use only proctors who are licensed barbers in Nevada and approved by a national organization to administer the practical demonstration portion of the examination. The measure provides that an applicant for license as an instructor may fail to pass the examination two times before he or she must complete 250 hours of further study.  Additionally, the bill also revises from 10 to 20 the ratio of students enrolled per instructor, and expressly states that a barber school must have at least one barber’s chair for each student present.

As previously reported, SB 370 will be effective either July 1, 2016 or July 1, 2017 depending on the section.  Upon Governor Sandoval’s signature of SB 370, the Barbers’ Heath and Sanitation Board is authorized to begin adopting regulations "and performing any other preparatory administrative tasks necessary to carry out the provisions of this act."

Links to all the bills mentioned in this report can be found in AACS’ Bill Tracking Portal.

 

Please contact me at Brian Newman by email or by phone at 202-491-5254 with any comments or questions.