SB275: SB275 Barbers and Cosmetologists; State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers from the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State; remove

Right now the State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers, which licenses barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians, nail technicians, and the shops and schools where they work, operates under Georgia's Secretary of State. This bill would move the board to the Department of Public Health starting July 1, 2025, but keep it largely independent from that department's control over its licensing, rule-making, and disciplinary decisions. The bill creates a new executive director position for the board, appointed by the board itself, who takes over duties currently handled by a 'division director' under the Secretary of State's office, such as keeping records, issuing certificates of registration, and maintaining a roster of licensees. It spells out board powers including hiring investigators who can carry firearms and make arrests, issuing cease and desist orders, setting fees, and holding hearings. It also sets venue rules for lawsuits against board members, requires veteran point credit on licensing exams, and updates reimbursement rules for board members' expenses.

• Removes the State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers from the Secretary of State's jurisdiction and makes it a division of the Department of Public Health starting July 1, 2025.
• Keeps the board largely autonomous from the Department of Public Health for its licensing, rule-making, and disciplinary (quasi-judicial) decisions.
• Creates a new executive director position, appointed and paid by the board, who takes over recordkeeping and licensing duties previously handled by a Secretary of State division director.
• Lists specific board powers such as hiring armed investigators, issuing cease and desist orders, subpoenaing witnesses, and setting license and application fees.
• Requires the board to give veterans credit toward licensing exam scores, matching rules used by other professional boards.
• Sets venue rules so lawsuits against board members must be filed in the county of the board's primary office, and updates how board members are reimbursed for travel expenses.

Licensed barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians, and nail technicians in Georgia; owners of beauty shops, barber shops, and cosmetology schools; board members and staff of the State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers; and the Secretary of State's office and Department of Public Health, which would lose and gain oversight of the board.

Licensees and shop owners would deal with a different state agency and a new executive director for renewals, registrations, and complaints. The board would gain expanded enforcement tools, including armed investigators and cease and desist authority, changing how licensing violations are pursued in Georgia.

• Section 1 adds a definition of 'executive director' and updates the definition of 'license' to reference the executive director instead of a division director (O.C.G.A. § 43-10-1).
• Section 3 adds new Code Section 43-10-2.1, moving the board to the Department of Public Health on July 1, 2025 while keeping its licensing and disciplinary functions independent of the department.
• Section 3 also adds Code Section 43-10-2.2, listing board powers including rule-making, fee-setting, hiring armed investigators, issuing cease and desist orders, and referring cases for criminal prosecution.
• New Code Section 43-10-2.1(f) requires the board to give veterans point credit on licensing exams as other boards already do.
• New Code Section 43-10-2.1(e) sets venue for lawsuits involving board members as the county of the board's primary office.
• Sections 4 through 12 replace references to the 'division director' with 'executive director' throughout the chapter governing registration, renewal, and apprenticeship rules.
• Section 2 revises board meeting and removal rules and removes the board's prior explicit seal and subpoena authority from Code Section 43-10-2(h), marking it 'Reserved.'

1. 2025-02-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-26Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)Primary sponsor
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Jason Esteves (D, SD-035)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Emanuel Jones (D, SD-010)

• cosmetology licensing
• barber regulation
• state government reorganization
• professional licensing boards