House Approves Legislation To Remove Burdensome And Outdated Regulations From Law Books

The full House passed legislation this week to remove unneeded governmental regulations and red tape from the system by exempting those whose profession is shampooing hair from having to acquire a barber or cosmetology license before being able to run their businesses.

Currently, a person in the shampooing business must submit an application, pay a fee, and take 300 hours of education at a cosmetology school before being able to offer their services to the public — burdens that supporters of the legislation believe are excessive and unneeded.

Similarly, the House Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee will hear legislation this week to authorize any individual, firm, or corporation that holds a cosmetology, manicurist, aesthetician, or natural hair styling license to practice in a customer’s home or place of business instead of being required to have a separate business location of their own. Presently, with a few exceptions, cosmetology services must be provided in a salon. House Bill 710 removes that restriction and allows for willing providers and willing recipients to transact that business outside of a salon.

The support of these bills by House Republicans are part of a broader effort to relieve the burden of regulation on the right of an individual to pursue a chosen business or profession without first having to jump through governmental hoops.

As part of the same effort, lawmakers earlier this month moved forward with legislation to encourage the growing and selling of Tennessee-based agricultural products across the state by removing governmental regulations that have placed undue burdens on the distribution of homegrown, locally produced food products.

Prior to the passage of House Bill 299, all food manufacturers, regardless of size, were required to be licensed and inspected by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, incurring fees and other payments due to the state. House Bill 299 removed these licensing costs, allowing home-kitchens and small start-up companies the ability to thrive without being burdened by unnecessary fees and expenses.

Over the last several years, many rural communities across Tennessee have seen newly established farmers markets and local kitchens pop up that continue to grow in size and offerings to the public. Because of the regulations in place, however, these groups had difficulty expanding because of the high fees associated with providing these services.

Now that the legislation has passed, House Bill 299 will stop the licensing and inspections required by the Department of Agriculture at over 150 existing domestic kitchens. This will allow for growth in our rural communities and at small business start-ups and farmers markets in all parts of the state.

As the 2017 legislative session continues, House Republicans remained committed to fighting back against governmental overreach and working to empower individuals to succeed without the worry of burdensome governmental regulations.