By: Schwertner  S.B. No. 1087
         (In the Senate - Filed February 24, 2017; March 7, 2017,
  read first time and referred to Committee on Business & Commerce;
  April 18, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 9,
  Nays 0; April 18, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the regulation of the hours of instruction for
  cosmetology licensing.
         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 1603.255, 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 4.  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 5.  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 6.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act do not
  affect the validity of a proceeding pending before the 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 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
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