New state law allows barbers to cut red tape

Gov. Chris Sununu has been touting his red-tape-cutting credentials lately.

He'll get no argument from Keene Beauty Academy President Jeanne Chappell, who is happy with the elimination of one particular bit of paperwork.

Last week, the Republican governor issued a statement after signing House Bill 409 into law:

“New Hampshire is slashing needless and burdensome red tape left and right to make it easier than ever to work here in the Granite State. Common sense prevails!”

Chappell explained Wednesday that under the previous law, there was a redundant licensing requirement in the beauty and grooming industry.

Barbers, cosmetologists and estheticians (skin-care professionals) must still be licensed in New Hampshire, but the new law eliminated the requirement that they also get a so-called “booth license” if they rent space in another person’s shop.

Many owners of salons and barbershops rent out space or “booths” to these professionals and allow them to operate independently rather than employing them directly.

Chappell said the booth license, which came with a two-year, $75 fee and required an inspection of their work area, didn’t make sense because the shop would have already been required to have a license and an inspection. She chairs the state board regulating barbers, cosmetologists and estheticians.

“This will save time and money, and also you won’t have to hold two licenses to be a booth renter,” she said. This will ease the workload on state inspectors so that they should be able to inspect barbershops and salons on a more timely basis, she added.

“I think this is a great change.”

Another bit of red-tape-cutting this past legislative session came in House Bill 594, sponsored by Rep. Joe Schapiro, D-Keene, and signed into law by Sununu on June 28.

The measure authorizes the state Office of Professional Licensure and Certification to issue professional licenses to people who hold substantially similar licenses out of state.

This streamlines what was a time-consuming licensing process for professionals relocating to New Hampshire, Schapiro said.

The state has dozens of licensing boards for everything from mental health practices to septic systems to podiatry to accountants.

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Previously, professionals seeking to move their practice from another state would have to work through one of these volunteer boards. That was often an inefficient process, Schapiro said.

“There've been a lot of complaints about that from employers and also people who were applicants,” he said.

“People with licenses in good standing in other states were being told they had to find their supervisors from 25 years ago, or provide a list of courses, and maybe they didn’t take some of the courses now required.”

Under the new law, the paid staff of the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification will work with applicants directly, and this should expedite the process, Schapiro said.

In his Feb. 14 budget address, Sununu urged a major overhaul of the state licensing system.

“I am proposing to fully remove 34 different outdated licenses from state government, eliminating 14 underutilized regulatory boards, and almost 700 unnecessary statutory provisions,” he said in the speech.

“The state doesn’t license the contractor who frames your house — but for some reason we license the person who plants a rosebush in your front yard. Not anymore.”

(There is no state construction board, but there is a landscape architect board.)

Schapiro said that despite the governor’s request, the Legislature this past session did not make wholesale changes to the licensing system.

He said complaints emerged that such major changes would reduce needed standards, harm consumer protection and “de-professionalize” people licensed through boards slated for elimination.

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Rick Green can be reached at rgreen@keenesentinel.com or 603-355-8567.

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