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Committee OKs term and membership changes for Physical Therapy and Barbering boards
Summary
Bills 36‑0141 (Board of Physical Therapy) and 36‑0142 (Barbering & Cosmetology) were introduced by Senator Avery L. Lewis, received testimony from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs, and were reported favorably out of the Committee on Rules and Judiciary.
The Committee on Rules and Judiciary voted to report favorably two companion licensing bills introduced by Senator Avery L. Lewis. Bill 36‑0141 sets a defined three‑year term of service for members of the Virgin Islands Board of Physical Therapy and specifies that members may continue to serve until successors are appointed. Bill 36‑0142 amends Title 27, chapter 17, section 451(a) of the Virgin Islands Code to replace the statutory term “island” with “district” when limiting how many board members may reside in one jurisdiction and to increase the maximum number of members who may reside in any one district from two to three.
Commissioner Natalie Hodge and staff from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs (DLCA) testified in support of both bills, explaining the changes would modernize board membership rules and improve the department’s ability to fill vacancies. DLCA provided active license counts used in testimony: 136 licensed cosmetologists/barbers/aestheticians on St. Croix, 177 on St. Thomas, and 14 on St. John, which the department said supported the move from island‑based limits to district‑based limits. Both bills were approved in committee on roll calls that recorded four yeas and three members absent and will be forwarded to the full Legislature.
