TDLR staff report progress on exams, licensing system and enforcement; HB5060 continuing-education changes noted

TDLR staff provided a series of reports on program activity, examinations and agency operations during the Barbering and Cosmetology Advisory Board meeting.

Licensing: Jennifer Cortez reported licensee and establishment counts and noted online Class A barber applications went live in September 2024. She described the multi-year TDLR Core licensing modernization project that will migrate agencies’ applications and services online; staff expect the project to continue across waves with early program deliveries anticipated in 2028.

Exams and education: Simone Cortez, program specialist for examinations, told the board that subject-matter experts reviewed existing items and produced new exam questions; the candidate information bulletin was refreshed and republished on Oct. 1. Simone said the agency completed implementation of continuing-education requirements for barbers under House Bill 5060 effective Sept. 1, 2025, and reminded schools about streamlined paper-permit processes for students without Social Security numbers.

Enforcement and inspections: Enforcement staff reported improved case-closure performance measures year over year. Field inspections referred approximately 1,132 barbering and cosmetology inspections to enforcement in FY2025, and inspectors documented 1,721 violations that were corrected while the inspector remained on site.

Outreach and compliance: Compliance staff highlighted trade-show outreach (Houston and San Antonio), student-focused presentations and work on a combined barbering and cosmetology law and rule book. Customer-service staff reported stable contact levels and progress filling positions.

Executive office: Deputy Executive Director Steve Bruno summarized organizational changes from the recent legislative session: TDLR now oversees lottery and bingo programs, the agency has grown to roughly 880 staff (with an FTE cap slightly above 900), and a new license for solar-panel installers was added. Bruno reiterated that TDLR Core will standardize common data elements across programs.

Staff committed to supply corrected examination pass-rate statistics and more detailed data to the advisory board and to convene work groups to address exam and curriculum issues.