By: Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Schwertner) H.B. No. 2304
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2017;
May 10, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Business &
Commerce; May 22, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
May 22, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2304 By: Schwertner
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of barbering and cosmetology.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1602.254(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) To be eligible for an operator license, an applicant
must meet the requirements of Subsection (c) or:
(1) be at least 17 years of age;
(2) have obtained a high school diploma or the
equivalent of a high school diploma or have passed a valid
examination administered by a certified testing agency that
measures the person's ability to benefit from training; and
(3) have completed:
(A) 1,000 [1,500] hours of instruction in a
licensed beauty culture school; or
(B) 1,000 hours of instruction in beauty culture
courses and 500 hours of related high school courses prescribed by
the commission in a vocational cosmetology program in a public
school.
SECTION 2. Section 1602.451(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The holder of a private beauty culture school license
shall:
(1) maintain a sanitary establishment;
(2) maintain on duty one licensed instructor for each
25 students in attendance;
(3) maintain a daily record of students' attendance;
(4) establish regular class and instruction hours and
grades;
(5) require a school term of not less than six [nine]
months and not less than 1,000 [1,500] hours instruction for a
complete course in cosmetology;
(6) require a school term of not less than 600 hours
instruction for a complete course in manicuring;
(7) hold examinations before issuing diplomas;
(8) maintain a copy of the school's curriculum in a
conspicuous place and verify that the curriculum is being followed;
(9) publish in the school's catalogue and enrollment
contract a description of the refund policy required under Section
1602.458; and
(10) provide the department with information on:
(A) the current course completion rates of
students who attend a course of instruction offered by the school;
and
(B) job placement rates and employment rates of
students who complete the course of instruction.
SECTION 3. Section 1603.102, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1603.102. SANITATION RULES. (a) The commission shall
establish sanitation rules to prevent the spread of an infectious
or contagious disease.
(b) Rules adopted under this section applicable to an
individual or facility regulated under Chapter 1602 shall be
consistent with the standards and terminology related to safety and
sanitation that are commonly used in the cosmetology industry.
SECTION 4. Section 1603.255, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1603.255. EARLY EXAMINATION. The department may allow
for the early written examination of a student who has completed the
following number of hours of instruction in a department-approved
training program:
(1) 1,000 hours for a student seeking a Class A barber
certificate [or operator license] in a private barber [or
cosmetology] school; [or]
(2) 900 hours for a student seeking an operator
license in a private cosmetology school; or
(3) 900 hours for a student seeking a Class A barber
certificate or operator license in a publicly funded barber or
cosmetology school.
SECTION 5. Section 1603.256(c), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The following persons may administer a practical
examination required under this subchapter:
(1) the department; [or]
(2) a person with whom the department contracts under
Section 1603.252; or
(3) a private beauty culture school or a vocational
cosmetology program in a public school licensed under this chapter
or Chapter 1602.
SECTION 6. Section 1603.351, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may
adopt rules to:
(1) authorize a school licensed under this chapter,
Chapter 1601, or Chapter 1602 to account for any hours of
instruction completed under those chapters on the basis of clock
hours or credit hours; and
(2) establish standards for determining the
equivalency and conversion of clock hours to credit hours and
credit hours to clock hours.
SECTION 7. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall
adopt rules implementing Chapter 1602, Occupations Code, as amended
by this Act.
SECTION 8. The change in law made by this Act to Section
1602.254(b), Occupations Code, applies only to an application for
an operator license submitted on or after September 1, 2018. An
application for an operator license submitted before that date is
governed by the law in effect on the date the application was
submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act to Section
1603.256(c), Occupations Code, applies to an examination
administered on or after the effective date of this Act. An
examination administered before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the examination was
administered, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 10. (a) The changes in law made by this Act do not
affect the validity of a proceeding pending before a court or other
governmental entity on the effective date of this Act.
(b) An offense or other violation of law committed before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
the offense or violation was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
subsection, an offense or violation was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
violation occurred before that date.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
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