SENATE BILL REPORT

SHB 1063

As Reported by Senate Committee On:

Commerce & Labor, March 25, 2015

Title: An act relating to cosmetology, hair design, barbering, esthetics, and manicuring.

Brief Description: Concerning cosmetology, hair design, barbering, esthetics, and manicuring.

Sponsors: House Committee on Business & Financial Services (originally sponsored by Representatives Kirby, Blake and Ryu).

Brief History: Passed House: 2/11/15, 93-5.

Committee Activity: Commerce & Labor: 3/20/15, 3/25/15 [DP].

Majority Report: Do pass.

Signed by Senators Baumgartner, Chair; Braun, Vice Chair; Hasegawa, Ranking Minority Member; Conway, Keiser, King and Warnick.

Staff: Susan Jones (786-7404)

Background: The Department of Licensing (Department) regulates cosmetology, barbering, manicuring, and esthetics. A person must be licensed to practice these professions. A barber license allows the cutting, trimming, arranging, dressing, curling, shampooing, shaving, and mustache and beard design of the face, neck, and scalp. A cosmetology license allows all these practices and, in addition, allows the following practices involving chemicals: permanent waving; chemical relaxing; straightening; bleaching; lightening; and coloring. The cosmetology license also allows waxing, tweezing, and some of the practices permitted for manicurists and estheticians. Washington does not have a license that allows only hair design or barbering with the use of chemicals. Use of chemicals requires a cosmetology license.

To receive a license, a person must meet training requirements and pass an exam. The minimum training requirements are as follows:

Practitioner	Hours in School; or	Hours in Apprenticeship
Cosmetologist	1600	2000
Barber	1000	1200
Manicurist	600	800
Esthetician	750	800
Master Esthetician	1200 hours, or esthetician licensure plus 450 hours	1400
Instructor-trainee	500	not applicable

The Department prepares and administers the exams, establishes minimum safety and sanitation standards, adopts rules, and otherwise administers the provisions. The Cosmetology, Barbering, Esthetics, and Manicuring Advisory Board (Advisory Board) advises the Department. The Advisory Board membership consists of representatives of stakeholder groups, including six licensed practitioners.

A reciprocity provision allows a person with an equivalent license in another state to take the examination for licensing.

Summary of Bill: Hair design, defined to include various practices, including cutting, styling, straightening, and coloring of hair, is added as a separate practice area for licensing. For a hair design license, the applicant must have 1400 hours of training or 1750 hours of apprenticeship. The Department is granted rulemaking authority to establish minimum safety and sanitation standards for hair designers. Hair designers are added to the Advisory Board title and the list of licenses for the six licensed practitioner board members.

Online training of license applicants is permitted.

Instructors in curriculum programs for cosmetology, hair design, barbering, manicuring, esthetics, or master esthetics may forego 300 hours of training with evidence of prior experience in those fields, or all 500 hours with evidence of 500 hours of experience as an instructor in another state.

Hair designers and master estheticians are added to the list of licenses for reciprocity.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: This bill passed both committees last year. Currently, there is a real problem with reciprocity because our statute is substantially different from other states in a lot of ways. The problem came through a military family who moved here from out of state. The person had been cutting hair for 20 years and went to get licensed and found out that we are the only state in America that does not have a hair design license. There is no reciprocity and they would have to get a cosmetology license. Many people just want to do hair and not practice in all the other areas of cosmetology that they do not need or want. This is a burden to people who want to come here and go to work. This is a big obstacle to people who have good jobs waiting for them. The hair design license gives the student another option. Hair design takes two items out of the cosmetology license. Many people do not want to practice manicure, pedicure, or skin care. The extra credit hours cost the students extra money. There are people that would like to be instructors but if they are working full-time, going back to school for the credits is a challenge and they should be given credit for experience. This also make sure the right people are teaching. Online learning is really important to those who would have to travel far to take in-person classes. Online learning is very also secure. This is a reasonable, well thought out bill for the industry and the consumers.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Representative Kirby, prime sponsor; Charles Kile, Victorias Academy of Cosmetology; Joanie Deutsch, WA Retail Assn.; Amy Brackenbury, NW Career College Federation; Megan Pedersen, MultiCare; Jeff Olson, citizen.

Persons Signed in to Testify But Not Testifying: No one.