Analysis
Topic: Amending PA 299 of 1980, as amended, the Occupational Code--Article 12 Cosmetology
Sponsor: Representative Ilona Varga
POSITION: The Department of Consumer and Industry Services supports the bill.
BACKGROUND: Enrolled HB 4219 amends Article 12 of the Occupational Code to update
obsolete language and reflect changes in the industry. These industry changes include: new
specialty hair care services, skin care services, manicuring and pedicure services, and
electrology. Changes to training requirements, establishment licenses and new examinations
for these subfields are included in the legislation. Recognition of skin care specialists
(estheticians) as a sub-field of cosmetology is added, along with a provision for voluntary
licensure of natural hair cultivation.
Enrolled HB 4220 establishes fees for new sub-field licenses and examinations.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BILL: Enrolled House Bill 4219 revises the definitions of
cosmetology services regarding: hair care, skin care, manicuring/pedicure, natural hair cultivation, and
electrology, requires new examinations, school and establishment licenses, and revises training
requirements for sub-field categories. (The application of permanent makeup or use of tanning
equipment is specifically excluded from the definitions of cosmetology services.)
Although natural hair cultivation is defined in the bill, it is also excluded from the definition of
cosmetology services, with the effect of permitting this activity to be performed by both licensed and
unlicensed personnel. Further, the bill establishes educational and/or experience qualifications for
licensure and requires the department to develop an examination, training curricula and apprenticeship
programs for what is effectively a separate category of licensure.
The bill makes the following changes to Article 12:
Creates a new subfield for skin care specialists with a separate license and a shorter training
period.
Provides for special establishment licenses for salons/shops which offer only sub-field services
(manicuring, skin care, or electrology) and permit them to be supervised by a person licensed in
the sub-field rather than requiring supervision by a licensed cosmetologist. This change will
affect approximately 1,500 currently unlicensed nail care salons, and an unknown number of
electrology salons.
Creates a new specialist instructor license for each sub-field, requiring 300 hours of instructor
training (instead of 500 hours currently required for instructors teaching a full cosmetology
curriculum).
Standardizes pre-licensure training requirements to 400 hours for each sub-field and allows for
the substitution of a 6-month apprenticeship for estheticians.
Permits a licensed cosmetologist to offer on-site services in connection with special
events.
Clarifies the training and practice of electrology, requires a separate license for rendering of
electrology services, and permits specialty school licenses for the teaching of electrology and for
electrology instructors.
Provides for licensing of natural hair cultivationist, but permits both practice and the operation of
a special service establishment without a license, as well as providing special exemptions based
on religious practice.
Deletes the prohibition against every other activity or business on the premises of a cosmetology
establishment, consistent with the Barber statute (Article 11 of PA 299 of 1980 as amended).
This change means that licensed or unlicensed activity or services may now take place in
cosmetology salons. The required separation of a cosmetology salon from a dwelling or a school
of cosmetology remains in the statute.
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS:
PRO:There is increased interest in skin care and natural hair cultivation in the cosmetology industry.
Without a cosmetologist license many experienced individuals are prohibited from working in
Michigan. Special sub-field licenses for skin care and natural hair cultivation will provide increased
employment opportunities and services to the public that obtain these services from licensed
cosmetology establishments.
CON:The legislation requires the Department to issue a sub-field license for natural hair cultivation
to individuals who apply and meet the defined qualifications, yet states further that "notwithstanding
any other provision of the Article, natural hair cultivationist may offer services for compensation and
operate establishments offering these services without a license." The "optional license" accommodates
individuals who have long practiced natural hair cultivation. However, while this provision affords
recognition of their special training or skills, it also allows natural hair cultivation services to be
performed without a license in unlicensed cosmetology establishments.
SUPPORTER: The Michigan Cosmetology Association
OPPONENTS: None identified.
FISCAL INFORMATION: Administrative requirements for the Department as a result of the
changes to Article 12 will include: licensing and inspection of new sub-field (limited service) shops
which were previously not required to be licensed, development of examinations for the sub-field
categories, promulgation of rules for sanitation, training curricula, apprenticeships, and licensing
requirements for the subfields, and increases in the number of applications for individual, instructor,
and establishment licenses for the new subfields.
The Department estimates processing applications and issuing new subfield licenses during the
phase-in period can be integrated into current workloads. The most significant costs will be
associated with the development of subfield examinations, modifications to speciality instructor
examinations, and the required annual inspections of increased numbers of limited service
cosmetology establishments and continued twice-yearly inspections of schools and
apprenticeship programs.
ADMINISTRATIVE RULES IMPACT: Rule-making authority by the Department is reflected
in the bill, which requires the Department to promulgate rules for schools, sub-field training and
apprenticeship programs, examinations, and safety and sanitation standards for the newly licensed
specialty salons.
ADMINISTRATIVE CONCERNS: The conference report deleted the practice of natural hair
cultivation from the definition of "hair care services," thereby removing it from the licensed scope of
practice of cosmetology. The optional licensure of natural hair cultivation, which is now separate from
the practice of cosmetology, creates a separate and distinct license category. Since the other services
(manicuring or skin care) for which sub-field licenses will be available are included in the practice of
cosmetology, they do not create new license categories.
A practical problem created by "optional licensure" will be the difficulty of discerning
whether services being offered in licensed establishments are licensed or unlicensed.
This provision may also may conflict with the purpose of licensure, which is defined by the
Occupational Code as a document which permits a qualified individual to practice an
occupation for which practice without a license is unlawful.
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