ARLINGTON, Va.—Yesterday, HB 2530, sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth and a companion to Sen. Jack Johnson’s SB 2224, was signed by Gov. Bill Lee. The bill fully exempts makeup artists in the state from cosmetology licensing. Previously, makeup artists who wished to practice outside of a retail store would need to apply for either a cosmetology or aesthetician license which have 1500- and-750-hour requirements, respectively.
The Institute for Justice (IJ), a national leader in helping expand opportunities for entrepreneurship and removing burdensome barriers to jobs in the beauty industry through the Beauty Not Barriers project, applauds the signing.
“This bill represents a major step forward in cutting unnecessary red tape that prevents people from entering and succeeding in the beauty industry,” said Kamryn Moe, Legislative Fellow at the Institute for Justice. “We thank Rep. Lamberth for his hard work as well as all the community leaders for working on this bill that will help grow economic freedom in Tennessee.”
The beauty profession is full of red tape and excessive regulations which incur heavy costs on those wishing to enter the job market. At the heart of these regulations are cosmetology schools which benefit from free labor and profit from the classes they have lobbied to force people to take. In response to lobbying by cosmetology schools, states require up to 2,100 hours in full-service programs, regardless of the services an aspiring beauty professional wants to provide, their existing skill sets, or alternative ways to learn. On average, school costs more than $16,000, and students borrow over $7,300.
That cost of entry is too steep for far too many, forcing those who can’t afford to comply into debt, into the shadows, or out of the industry entirely. Beauty professionals typically only learn how bad the system is by going through it.
Tennessee has long been one of the most burdensome states for occupational licensing across the board, according to research by IJ. Removing this licensing requirement continues to grow the trend of states removing occupational licenses both in the beauty industry and work in general.
“Economic freedom means having the right to earn a living for yourself, your family, and your loved ones,” said Megan Condon of IJ’s Activism Team. “This bill helps move Tennessee towards that ideal. When people are free to work, everyone benefits.”
The Institute for Justice (IJ), a national public interest law firm that has worked with beauty workers nationwide for more than 30 years since its founding to challenge these types of laws in courtrooms and state capitols, joins the beauty workers, community activists, and political leaders that supported this bill in praising its passage.
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To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at [email protected] or (850) 376-4110. More information is available at: https://beautynotbarriers.com/