Board moves multiple policy proposals into sunset review; supports temporary extension of manicurist exemption

The Board of Barbering and Cosmetology advanced several proposals for its upcoming sunset report and took positions on multiple bills during its meeting.

Board staff presented the section of the sunset report that summarizes new issues the board recommends the Legislature consider. The board then voted to include specific items in the sunset submission and to support one pending bill that would temporarily extend an employment‑status exemption for manicurists.

Key items the board approved for inclusion in the sunset report include: - Expanded school oversight: Staff recommended statutory authority to inspect items beyond health and safety — such as school attendance records and contracts — to better detect “selling hours” and other abuses. The presentation asked the Legislature to authorize a fee for school application and renewal and to require the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) to provide citation and disciplinary records directly to the board. - Licensure by endorsement safeguards: Staff proposed requiring applicants who hold licenses from other states to provide proof of where they passed any required examination, to close identified fraud loops in interstate endorsement requests. - Combined license types: The board discussed and approved proposing combined licenses (Barber‑Cosmetology and Manicuring‑Aesthetics) with proposed combined hour totals (for example, a recommended 1,400‑hour combined Barber‑Cosmetology course and 800 hours for Manicuring‑Aesthetics). Staff said combined tests could be developed by the testing vendor. - Limited liability company (LLC) clarification: Proposed legislative language to clarify how LLCs and corporate entities may own or operate establishments, and to prevent previously disciplined individuals from invisibly managing establishments. - Remedial education cleanup: Staff proposed clarifying language so the board can contract out development of a remedial education program that can be required in lieu of a first offense for some health and safety violations.

Board members asked detailed questions about hour calculations for combined licenses, possible tuition impact, and the relationships between the board, BPPE and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS). Public commenters urged the board to include concrete examples of consumer harm in its sunset submission so legislators understand the public‑safety rationale for regulation.

Legislative positions and votes - The board voted to support AB 1514, legislation that would temporarily extend the AB 5 exemption for licensed manicurists through January 1, 2029, allowing manicurists additional time to work under the existing independent‑contractor exemption while lawmakers consider longer‑term changes. - The board took watch positions on several bills related to teleconferencing (Bagley‑Keene teleconferencing extension), chemical hair relaxer restrictions and licensing‑interpreter rules; staff recommended maintaining those watch positions.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Include agenda item 10(a) items 1–5 (new issues including school oversight, application fees, licensure by endorsement reforms, combined license types, LLC clarification) in the sunset review. Motion moved and seconded; roll call recorded with unanimous approval. - Motion: Include agenda item 10(b) (responses to prior sunset issues, pages 1–11) in the sunset review, with one carve‑out to evaluate a mandated practical exam separately. Motion carried with unanimous roll call. - Motion: Support AB 1514 (temporary extension of manicurist exemption). Motion carried with unanimous roll call.

Ending: Staff said many regulation and statutory proposals will return to the board in draft regulatory or legislative language and that the full sunset packet will be finalized at the board’s next meeting.