BILL REQ. #:  S-4490.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/05/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to cosmetology, barbering, manicuring, and esthetics; amending RCW 18.16.110, 18.16.260, and 18.16.160; reenacting and amending RCW 18.16.060 and 18.16.200; reenacting RCW 18.16.030; adding a new section to chapter 18.16 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 18.16.165; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 18.16.060 and 2002 c 111 s 5 and 2002 c 86 s 214 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) It is unlawful for any person to engage in a practice listed in subsection (2) of this section unless the person has a license in good standing as required by this chapter. A licensee who has been issued a license under this chapter shall be considered to be "in good standing" except when: (a) The license has expired or has been canceled and has not been renewed in accordance with RCW 18.16.110; (ii) the license has been denied, revoked, or suspended under RCW 18.16.210, 18.16.230, or 18.16.240, and has not been reinstated; (iii) the licensee has not fully complied with an order of the director issued under RCW 18.16.210 requiring the licensee to pay restitution or a fine, or acquire additional training; or (iv) the license has been placed on inactive status at the request of the licensee, and has not been reinstated in accordance with RCW 18.16.260(2).
     (2) The director may take action under RCW 18.235.150 and 18.235.160 against any person who does any of the following without first obtaining, and maintaining in good standing, the license required by this chapter:
     (a) Except as provided in subsection (((2))) (3) of this section, engages in the commercial practice of cosmetology, barbering, esthetics, or manicuring((, or instructing));
     (b) Instructs in a school;
     (c) Operates a school; or
     (d) Operates a salon/shop, personal services, or mobile unit.
     (((2))) (3) A person who receives a license as an instructor may engage in the commercial practice for which he or she held a license when applying for the instructor license without also renewing the previously held license. However, a person licensed as an instructor whose license to engage in a commercial practice is not or at any time was not renewed ((cannot)) may not engage in the commercial practice previously permitted under that license unless that person renews the previously held license.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 18.16 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) If the holder of an individual license in good standing submits a written and notarized request that the licensee's cosmetology, barber, manicurist, esthetician, or instructor license be placed on inactive status, together with a fee equivalent to that established by rule for a duplicate license, the department shall place the license on inactive status until the expiration date of the license. If the date of the request is no more than six months before the expiration date of the license, a request for a two-year extension of the inactive status, as provided under subsection (2) of this section, may be submitted at the same time as the request provided under this subsection.
     (2) If the holder of a license placed on inactive status under this section submits, by the expiration date of the license, a written and notarized request to extend that status for an additional two years, the department shall, without additional fee, extend the expiration date of (a) the licensee's individual license; and (b) the inactive status for two years from the expiration date of the license.
     (3) A license placed on inactive status under this section may not be extended more frequently than once in any twenty-four month period, nor for more than six consecutive years.
     (4) If, by the expiration date of a license placed on inactive status under this section, a licensee is unable to, or fails to request that the status be extended and the license is not renewed, the license shall be canceled.

Sec. 3   RCW 18.16.110 and 2002 c 111 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director shall issue the appropriate license to any applicant who meets the requirements as outlined in this chapter.
     (2) Except as provided in RCW 18.16.260: (a) Failure to renew a license ((before)) by its expiration date subjects the holder to a penalty fee and payment of each year's renewal fee, at the current rate((.)); and
     (b) A person whose license has not been renewed within one year after its expiration date shall have the license canceled and shall be required to submit an application, pay the license fee, meet current licensing requirements, and pass any applicable examination or examinations, in addition to the other requirements of this chapter, before the license may be reinstated.
     (3) Nothing in this section authorizes a person whose license has expired to engage in a practice prohibited under RCW 18.16.060 until the license is renewed or reinstated.
     (4) Upon request and payment of an additional fee to be established by rule by the director, the director shall issue a duplicate license to an applicant.

Sec. 4   RCW 18.16.200 and 2002 c 111 s 12 and 2002 c 86 s 217 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     In addition to the unprofessional conduct described in RCW 18.235.130, the director may take disciplinary action against any applicant or licensee under this chapter ((may be subject to disciplinary action by the director)) if the licensee or applicant:
     (1) Has been found to have violated any provisions of chapter 19.86 RCW;
     (2) Has engaged in ((the commercial)) a practice ((of cosmetology, barbering, manicuring, esthetics, or instructed in or operated a school)) prohibited under RCW 18.16.060 without first obtaining, and maintaining in good standing, the license required by this chapter;
     (((2))) (3) Has engaged in the commercial practice of cosmetology, barbering, manicuring, or esthetics in a school;
     (((3))) (4) Has not provided a safe, sanitary, and good moral environment for students ((and)) in a school or the public;
     (5) Has failed to display licenses required in this chapter; or
     (((4))) (6) Has violated any provision of this chapter or any rule adopted under it.

Sec. 5   RCW 18.16.260 and 2002 c 111 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Prior to July 1, ((2003)) 2005, (i) a cosmetology licensee((s)) who held a license in good standing between June 30, 1999, and June 30, 2003, may request a renewal of the license or an additional license in barbering, manicuring, and/or esthetics; and (ii) a licensee who held a barber, manicurist, or esthetics license between June 30, 1999, and June 30, 2003, may request a renewal of such licenses held during that period.
     (b) A license renewal fee, including, if applicable, a renewal fee, at the current rate, for each year the licensee did not hold a license in good standing between July 1, 2001, and the date of the renewal request, must be paid prior to issuance of each type of license requested. After June 30, ((2003)) 2005, any cosmetology licensee wishing to renew an expired license or obtain additional licenses must meet the applicable renewal, training, and examination requirements of this chapter.
     (c) The director may, as provided in RCW 43.24.140, modify the duration of any additional license granted under this subsection to make all licenses issued to a person expire on the same date.
     (2) ((Prior to July 1, 2003, students enrolled in a licensed school in an approved cosmetology curriculum may apply for the examination in cosmetology, manicuring, and esthetics. An examination fee must be paid for each examination selected. After June 30, 2003, students enrolled in a licensed school in an approved cosmetology curriculum may not apply for examination in manicuring and esthetics without meeting the training requirements of this chapter.)) In lieu of the requirements of RCW 18.16.110(2)(a), the holder of a license placed on inactive status under section 2 of this act may be reinstated to the status of in good standing upon receipt by the department of: (a) Payment of a renewal fee, without penalty for a two-year license commencing on the date the license is reinstated; and (b) if the license was on inactive status during any time that the board finds that a health or other requirements applicable to the license has changed, evidence showing that, the licensee has successfully completed, from a school licensed under RCW 18.16.140, at least the number of curriculum clock hours of instruction that the board deems necessary for a licensee to be brought current with respect to such changes, but in no case may the number of hours required under this subsection exceed four hours per year that the licensee was on inactive status.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   The department of licensing shall:
     (1) Within ninety days after the effective date of this section, each person who held a cosmetology, barber, manicurist, or esthetician license between June 30, 1999, and June 30, 2003, of the provisions of this act by mailing a notice as specified in this section to the licensee's last known mailing address;
     (2) Include in the notice required by this section:
     (a) A summary of this act, including a summary of the requirements for (i) renewing and obtaining additional licenses; and (ii) requesting placement on inactive status;
     (b) A telephone number within the department for obtaining further information;
     (c) The department's internet address; and
     (d) On the outside of the notice, a facsimile of the state seal, the department's return address, and the words "Notice of Legislative Changes -- Cosmetology, Barbering, Manicuring, and Esthetics Licensing Information Enclosed" in conspicuous bold face type.

Sec. 7   RCW 18.16.030 and 2002 c 111 s 3 and 2002 c 86 s 213 are each reenacted to read as follows:
     In addition to any other duties imposed by law, including RCW 18.235.030 and 18.235.040, the director shall have the following powers and duties:
     (1) To set all license, examination, and renewal fees in accordance with RCW 43.24.086;
     (2) To adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter;
     (3) To prepare and administer or approve the preparation and administration of licensing examinations;
     (4) To establish minimum safety and sanitation standards for schools, instructors, cosmetologists, barbers, manicurists, estheticians, salons/shops, personal services, and mobile units;
     (5) To establish curricula for the training of students under this chapter;
     (6) To maintain the official department record of applicants and licensees;
     (7) To establish by rule the procedures for an appeal of an examination failure;
     (8) To set license expiration dates and renewal periods for all licenses consistent with this chapter; ((and))
     (9) To ensure that all informational notices produced and mailed by the department regarding statutory and regulatory changes affecting any particular class of licensees are mailed to each licensee in good standing or on inactive status in the affected class whose mailing address on record with the department has not resulted in mail being returned as undeliverable for any reason; and
     (10) To make information available to the department of revenue to assist in collecting taxes from persons required to be licensed under this chapter.

Sec. 8   RCW 18.16.160 and 1991 c 324 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
     In addition to any other legal remedy, any student or instructor-trainee having a claim against a school may bring suit upon the approved security required in RCW 18.16.140(1)(((e))) (d) in the superior or district court of Thurston county or the county in which the educational services were offered by the school. Action upon the approved security shall be commenced by filing the complaint with the clerk of the appropriate superior or district court within one year from the date of the cancellation of the approved security: PROVIDED, That no action shall be maintained upon the approved security for any claim which has been barred by any nonclaim statute or statute of limitations of this state. Service of process in an action upon the approved security shall be exclusively by service upon the director. Two copies of the complaint shall be served by registered or certified mail upon the director at the time the suit is started. Such service shall constitute service on the approved security and the school. The director shall transmit the complaint or a copy thereof to the school at the address listed in the director's records and to the surety within forty-eight hours after it has been received. The approved security shall not be liable in an aggregate amount in excess of the amount named in the approved security. In any action on an approved security, the prevailing party is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
     The director shall maintain a record, available for public inspection, of all suits commenced under this chapter upon approved security.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   RCW 18.16.165 (Licenses issued, students enrolled before January 1, 1992 -- Curricula updates) and 1991 c 324 s 8 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.