Arizona The House of Representatives voted 17 to 42 last Wednesday to reject a multi-occupation deregulation bill that would eliminate the state’s barbering and cosmetology Board. HB 2031 – the “Abolition of Functionally Unnecessary Excessive Regulators Act” – remains a viable bill on the House floor as a motion to reconsider was subsequently adopted.
Colorado The Colorado Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform (COPRRR) will be conducting a series of sunset review town halls for the Division of Professions and Occupations. As the COPRRR is currently conducting a 2025 sunset review of the "Cosmetologist Act and Barber and Cosmetology Advisory Committee," schools and other beauty industry representatives may want to participate on March 7 (virtual), March 21 (in-person in Denver), or April 11 (virtual). Click on the applicable date for registration information. A Sunset report for cosmetology and barbering – similar to this 2014 sunset report – will be released by October 15, 2025.
Additional information about the sunset review process can be found here.
Florida State Senator Keith Truenow (R) introduced a bill that would eliminate the Babers’ Board and the Board of Cosmetology and transfer licensure oversight to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. SB 1452 would also require initial cosmetology licensure applicants to be fingerprinted to determine if (s)he has a criminal history record.
An identical House companion bill – HB 1461 – was subsequently filed. The bills will likely be assigned to standing committees later this week.
Idaho A bill to deregulate makeover and glamour photography businesses is a Senate floor vote away from final passage after the Senate Commerce and Human Resources favorably reported the bill last week. H112 was unanimously passed by the House on February 21, 2025.
The House also passed H120, which would eliminate licensure for "retail thermal styling equipment dealers" by a vote of 66 to 3, and H121, which would deregulate makeup artistry, by a vote of 64 to 3. These measures will be considered by the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee this week.
Iowa The House State Government Committee voted 15 to 9 to recommend passage of HF 711. As previously reported, the bill – initially introduced as HF 49 – would create an ambiguously defined barbering and cosmetology establishment training program that would allow participating salons/shops to employ unlicensed individuals to shampoo, cut hair, color, and style “under the supervision of a licensee who regularly provides the services.” It states, “a person providing services without a license must first complete two hours of education related to barbering and cosmetology laws in this state and rules and sanitation, as determined by the board by rule, before offering services permitted under the program.”
The Committee reported bill also contains language from SF 316 that would allow school instructors to perform services for compensation at a school while not instructing students. It would also allow students to take a combined esthetics and nail technology course of study, and; prohibit the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology Arts and Sciences from approving a program of study that includes a course of study with substantially lower requirements than the requirements imposed by law or the board for a similar license. Additionally, it prohibits the Board from approving “a program of study that is substantially duplicative of an approved program currently operating in this state.”
Montana A multi-occupation apprenticeship bill was unanimously passed by the House on Saturday. HB 336 would authorize apprenticeship licensure for (i) barbering; (ii) barbering nonchemical; (iii) cosmetology; (iv) electrology; (v) esthetics; and (vi) manicuring.
Oklahoma A bill to extend the sunset of the State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering until July 1, 2028, was unanimously passed by the House last week. HB 1030 has been transmitted to the Senate but not yet assigned to a standing committee.
Tennessee The House of Representative unanimously passed HB 862 on Monday. As previously reported, the bill would require the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR), a state research agency, to conduct a comprehensive study on the economic impact of cosmetology and barbering, “including revenue generated through the services provided and the number of jobs generated by the professions.” A Senate companion – SB 939 – is in the chamber’s Commerce and Labor Committee.
Utah A bill to rewrite the state’s cosmetology and barbering Act following a 2024 Office of Professional Licensure Act Review was introduced last Monday and favorably reported from the Senate Business and Labor Committee by a vote of 5 to 1 two days later. Key provisions of SB 330 include: reducing the course of instruction for cosmetology from 1,600 to 1,250 hours; reducing the course of instruction for hair design from 1,200 to 1,000 hours; establishing the following permits – non-chemical barbering (130 hours), chemical hair services (260 hours), haircutting (150 hours), and facial hair removal (50 hours) – which are most likely non-transferable to another state, and; revising instructor licensure requirements. As drafted, apprentices would be required to complete the same number of hours as the course of instruction as a school for each respective license or permit.
The bill’s sponsor noted at the hearing that the measure is a work in progress and that he has a spreadsheet with 22 modifications to consider. A Salt Lake Tribute article indicated that barbers believe the bill is “de facto deregulation.” According to both a barber and a barber school owner, “aspiring barbers will choose the easier route — the 130-hour permit — over the 1,000-hour license if they can because it’s what they can afford and what they believe will get them to their goal faster."
A floor substitute to SB 330 was adopted by voice-vote at the end of last week. It made numerous changes from the Sponsor’s list including establishing a 200-hour basic esthetics permit and a fix for CTE cosmetology programs but did not lengthen the hours necessary for a barbering permit. The bill was circled on the floor to allow industry officials to review the modifications before Senate passage this week.
Washington The House Postsecondary Education and Workforce Committee favorably reported a bill last month that would require cosmetologists, barbers, estheticians, and hair designers to receive training on the care, styling, and treatment of textured hair. HB 1874 is currently awaiting consideration on the House floor. | 
