Nearly 20 percent of Iowans must obtain an occupational license before they can work. A new law is lowering barriers to employment in the Hawkeye State.
Last week, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 711 into law, creating an apprenticeship program that allows unlicensed individuals to provide cosmetology and barbering services under the supervision of someone who is licensed and after completing two hours of education on sanitation rules. Businesses that participate in this program are required to register with the state's Board of Barbering and Cosmetology Arts and Sciences and comply with safety and sanitation requirements. Consumers must also receive written disclosure that the services are performed by an unlicensed provider partaking in an establishment training program.
The enactment of this bill will significantly reduce the barriers to working in Iowa's barbering and cosmetology industries. Under previous regulations, an individual required a license before making an income from providing salon and barbering services. But to obtain a license, one had to first graduate from a board-approved cosmetology program (with an average tuition of $19,508), complete 1,550 hours of supervised practice, and pass an examination—all to enter a profession in which half make less than $25,990 a year, according to the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm.
