HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1017
As Passed House:
January 25, 2023
Title: An act relating to expediting licensure for cosmetologists, hair designers, barbers, manicurists, and estheticians.
Brief Description: Expediting licensure for cosmetologists, hair designers, barbers, manicurists, and estheticians.
Sponsors: Representatives Ryu, Leavitt, Chambers, Simmons, Jacobsen, Reed, Graham, Lekanoff, Caldier, Timmons, Reeves, Tharinger, Springer, Thai, Santos and Riccelli.
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Consumer Protection & Business: 1/13/23, 1/17/23 [DP].
Floor Activity:
Passed House: 1/25/23, 96-0.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Permits an applicant for a cosmetology, hair designer, barber, manicurist, or esthetician license to register for or take their final examination before completing their instruction if within 100 hours of completion.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION & BUSINESS
Majority Report: Do pass.Signed by 13 members:Representatives Walen, Chair; Reeves, Vice Chair; Corry, Ranking Minority Member; McClintock, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Chapman, Cheney, Connors, Donaghy, Hackney, Ryu, Sandlin, Santos and Volz.
Staff: Megan Mulvihill (786-7304).
Background:

The Department of Licensing (DOL) regulates a number of businesses and professions by issuing licenses and ensuring compliance with professional standards and laws.  The DOL regulates and issues licenses to qualified applicants to engage in the commercial practices of cosmetology, hair design, barbering, esthetics, or manicuring.  Cosmetology relates to the care of:  (1) hair on the scalp, face and neck; (2) nails on the hands and feet; and (3) the skin.  Barbering, manicuring, and esthetics concern a narrower range of functions within the practice of cosmetology.

 

Persons pursuing a cosmetology license must:

  • be at least 17 years of age;
  • either:  (1) graduate from a DOL-approved and licensed school with the minimum required state hours; or (2) complete a state-approved apprenticeship training program with the minimum required state hours; and
  • pass the state-approved practical and written examinations.

 

After completing the required coursework, applicants seeking licensure may take their final examinations.
Summary of Bill:

The director may permit an applicant for a cosmetology, hair designer, barber, manicurist, or esthetician license to register for or take their final examination before completing their instruction if within 100 hours of completion, but the applicant must complete their instruction hours before licensure.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) It can be difficult for cosmetologists to find the time to take their final examinations, especially with family commitments.  This helps reduce barriers by allowing potential licensees to register for and take their examinations towards the end of their required classroom hours.  Currently, students must wait until all of their training hours are completed, and this has led to a bottleneck for cosmetologists to get licensed and hired.  The pandemic created new protocols and increased the lag between trade school graduation and testing, often two to five months now between graduation and licensure.  This effects students who are ready to test, as waiting makes it harder to remember what they have learned.  It also keeps them out of the workforce longer.  Employers in Washington have a need for more cosmetologists, and this streamlines the process and gets people into the workforce faster.

(Opposed) None.
Persons Testifying: Representative Cindy Ryu, prime sponsor; Frank Trieu, Evergreen Beauty College; D'Arcy Harrison, Cosmetologists of Washington United; Hannah Govea; Sylvia Garcia; Sue Rooney, Great Clips Salons; and Joren Clowers, Northwest Career Colleges Federation and Associated Day Spas of Washington.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.