The South Dakota Legislature may make it easier to make others beautiful. House Bill 1026, requested by the Department of Labor and Regulation, would reduce the hours a licensed apprentice in cosmetology must put in at a salon from 3,000 to 2,150. Assuming 40-hour weeks, HB 1026 drops the cosmetology apprenticeship term from 75 weeks (If all you want to do is nails—and we have a separate license for that!—the apprenticeship term remains at 900 hours.) HB 1026 also drops separate classes of “junior” and “senior” instructors and authorizes the cosmetology commission to come up with rules allowing substitute instructors.
HB 1026 appears to align with the Trump Administration’s call (expressed in Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta’s visit to Sioux Falls in August) for lowering occupational licensure requirements.
The next DLR bill in the hopper, House Bill 1027, also appears to let more aspiring beautifiers get their well-pedicured feet in the door. Current law limits apprentice salons to two apprentices at a time. HB 1027 changes that limit to two apprentices per instructor. So if one salon has two certified instructors, voilà! four apprentices, if the salon is inclined.
And hey, our Apprentice-President wants more apprentices, so let’s hop to it!
Well Good! It was a ridiculous amount of time to qualify to be a Russian Astronaut!