Kansas Final Tattooing, Body Piercing, and Permanent Cosmetics rules were published in the Kansas Register last week. The notice states that “examinations for tattoo, cosmetic tattoo, and body piercing shall consist of both a theory examination and a practical examination on safety, infection control, and standards of practice. The theory examination shall be a written examination. The practical examination may be provided in written format.” The regulations also allow qualified applicants to receive a temporary permit to work under the direct supervision of a licensed permanent cosmetic technician, tattoo artist, or body piercing technician while waiting for an upcoming examination.
South Carolina The August 23, 2024, South Carolina State Register contains a Notice of Drafting stating “the South Carolina Board of Cosmetology proposes revising its regulations regarding licensure for out-of-state applicants. Interested persons may submit comments to Tracy Adams, Board Executive for the Cosmetology Board, South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Post Office Box 11329, Columbia, S.C. 29211-1329.”
Texas The August 23, 2024, Texas Register contains proposed revisions to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation procedural rules. According to a TDLR summary, the proposed rule changes:
- Update the rule regarding the disciplinary authority of the Commission and the Executive Director to add consumer refunds to the list of possible disciplinary actions and remove unnecessary language.
- Update the rules regarding initial license applications to address: the items required to be submitted; incomplete applications; insufficient or not qualified applications; criminal history background checks; foreign transcripts and degrees; and license application denials.
- Update the rules regarding license renewals to address: the items required to be submitted; the requirements that must be completed before license expiration; criminal history background checks; on-time renewals; late renewals that fall within and beyond the late renewal deadlines; license applications from persons who were previously licensed in Texas and are currently licensed in another state; and license renewal denials.
- Update and clarify the rule regarding a temporary license.
- Update and clarify the rule regarding substantially equivalent licenses.
- Add a new rule regarding the voluntary surrender of a license.
- Update the rules regarding license examinations to address examination providers, scheduling and rescheduling, fees and refunds, accommodations, security, results, validity and acceptance of results, and reexaminations.
Comments on the proposed rules may be submitted online until September 23, 2024.
Utah The Office of Professional Licensure Review (OPLR), which was created by Governor Spencer Cox (R) in 2021 to “provide a regular, systematic, objective review of the requirements for each regulated occupation in the state of Utah,” presented cosmetology policy recommendations to the legislature’s Business and Labor Interim Committee last week.
The OPLR’s presentation to the Interim Committee contained a slide indicating that “current licensing creates unnecessary burdens on those most in need of opportunity” and indicate that the state’s 1,600-hour cosmetologist/barber has a significant portion “unrelated to consumer safety.”
To the end, OPLR recommended to the legislature that Utah eliminate cosmetology, barber and master esthetician licenses completely. Instead, combinable micro-licenses would be created to “increase licensee choice” and lower the burden “to new entrants of licensees wanting to add skills.”
The lower hour micro-licenses could be “bundled” to “to allow for portability and Pell eligibility.” OPLR however acknowledged that requiring accreditation for each restructured or new micro license program “would place significant burdens on training programs” and revisions to the state’s licensure model “could complicate interstate portability for those wishing to practice outside of Utah.”
Click here to view achieved video of OPLR’s presentation to the Interim Committee.
According to KSL-TV, hundred of Utah students and beauty professional showed up at the state Capitol for a Utah Beauty School Owners Association organized “black out” to protest the proposed “devastating changes.” They filled up the Committee meeting room and several overflow rooms for OPLR’s presentation.
The Interim Committee will likely consider a formal legislative proposal this Fall. If a bill is introduced, it will need to be considered during the 2025 legislative session which kicks-off on January 21, 2025, and concludes on March 7, 2025. West Virginia The Board of Barbers and Cosmetologists approved revised school and salon sanitation rules earlier this month. The rulemaking received no public comments during the official comment period in July and will be subject to a final review by the Legislative Rulemaking Review Committee. | 
