Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Licensing Systems topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
New Mississippi cosmetology and barbering board seeks $300,000 for licensing system after merger
Summary
The recently created Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering told the Appropriations Subcommittee it needs about $300,000 to buy licensing software after the April 2024 merger of the previous cosmetology and barber boards; the board also described exam translation and testing-expansion plans to handle more than 50,000 practitioners.
The Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering asked the Appropriations Subcommittee for about $300,000 to buy a licensing database and public-facing licensing software after the Legislature combined the former cosmetology and barber boards under HB 313 in April 2024.
The request, presented by Executive Director Catherine Bell, follows the board’s first year of operation. Bell told the committee the merged board now regulates more than 50,000 individual practitioners across cosmetology, barbering, nail technology and aesthetics and has already collected about $776,000 in revenue since it began operations.
“The board currently has no licensing software — only a document-management system,” Bell said. Under the present process, applicants must mail or hand-deliver paper applications; staff then manually create digital folders. A licensing system would let applicants apply and renew online, provide workflow tools for staff, and allow the public to verify practitioner status and discipline history, she said.
Cornerstone Consulting representative Denise Durocic told the subcommittee the board consolidated data from the two legacy systems into a single document-management provider but lacks an integrated licensing platform. The board has explored options including the state’s “large system” maintained by ITS and commercial vendors; Bell said final specifications and a request-for-proposals had not been issued at the time of the hearing.
The board also reported operational changes and near-term priorities that would be aided by a licensing system: translating exams and application materials into Spanish and Vietnamese; expanding practical-exam sites and evaluators to reduce applicant wait times; and hosting licensing data on ITS to avoid buying a new external server.
Bell said the board is pursuing the Universal Recognition of Occupational Licensing Act (UROLA) requirements and is translating exams to improve access. Practical exam evaluators are contracted and paid locally; the board has begun to recruit more evaluators to offer tests more frequently.
The board has started internal cost savings by consolidating duplicate software and reducing duplicative licensing overhead from the pre-merger boards, Bell said, but argued that only a dedicated licensing platform will enable the board to serve licensees and protect public health and safety at scale.
The subcommittee did not vote on the request at the hearing. Members asked about ongoing hosting and maintenance costs and about whether ITS or a commercial vendor would be used; officials said specifics were still being evaluated.
