House Bill 136 Summary

• Merges the State Board of Cosmetology and State Board of Barber Examiners into a single State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering effective July 1, 2024, with the Health Officer and six appointed members (one manicurist/esthetician, two cosmetologists, three barbers).

• Reduces cosmetology licensing requirements from 1,500 hours to allow apprenticeship programs of 3,000 hours monitored by instructors, and lowers minimum age from 17 to 16 years old and education requirement from high school to 10th grade equivalent.

• Establishes similar apprenticeship options for barbers (3,000 hours), estheticians (1,200 hours), and manicurists (700 hours) with one-on-one mentoring requirements.

• Creates tiered fine system classifying violations as Class A ($500-$1,000), Class B ($250-$750), or Class C ($100-$500), and increases criminal penalties for unlicensed practice from $100 to $500-$1,000.

• Implements comprehensive school licensing standards including temporary, probationary, conditional, and nonconditional license tiers based on pass rates and violations, with no automatic renewals and required teach-out plans for closures.