State Update - October 15

October 15, 2025

HEADLINES

• California Governor Signs Independent Contractor Bill for Manicurists
• Tennessee Licensing & Sanitation Rules go into Effect on Christmas Eve
• Legislative & Regulatory Updates from Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin 

THIS WEEK IN THE STATES

The current week finds eight state legislatures actively meeting – including Illinois, which is meeting three-days this week and three-days later in the month for its annual Fall veto session. 

The National Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) is also meeting later this week in Glendale, Arizona. Sessions include:

• Esthetics and Advanced Esthetics -What Is the Difference?
• Defining “National” in Beauty Regulation: Systems, Standards, and Stakeholder Impact
• License/Certification vs Permit 

CALIFORNIA MANICURIST CLASSIFICATION BILL SIGNED BY GOVERNOR

Governor Gavin Newsome signed AB 1514 into law earlier this month. The Act makes it easier for manicurists to be classified as independent contractors by extending the sunset that, effective January 1, 2025, makes them subject to standard worker classification rules.

Why this is Important: According to the sponsor, the measure “extends the sunset on the licensed manicurists' exemption from AB 5 for three years while including important reporting requirements by the Economic Development Department (EDD) and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) on labor violations in the industry to help stakeholders and policymakers develop the appropriate regulatory framework for this profession and better protect these workers from misclassification and wage theft.”  

FINAL LICENSING AND SANITATION RULES FILED IN TENNESSEE

The Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners filed amended licensing and sanitation rules that become effective on December 24, 2025. The most significant amendment increases the number of apprentice students that a “supervising licensed professional” can oversee from one to three. However, “a supervising licensed professional can only provide supervised instruction to one (1) student at a time. Any supervising licensed professional that is the responsible charge of more than one (1) apprenticeship student shall ensure that each apprenticeship student receives enough hours of supervised instruction per week to graduate in one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the time allowed for a non-apprenticeship student to complete a course of study under the school's standard, non-apprenticeship contract agreement.”

The regulations also eliminate requirements that private barber and cosmetology schools only admit students who have completed and passed two years of high school or received at least a score of thirty-eight percent (38%) on the GED or HiSET examination.

During the rulemaking process, a Board member expressed concern that removing the square footage requirement for barbering schools in Rule 0200-01-.01 and replacing it with a requirement for adequate instructional space was confusing. This led to the Board voting not to amend Rule 0200-01-.01.

Why this is important: The rules were, in part, promulgated due to the passage of Public Chapter 1060 in 2024. The Act repealed the requirement that an individual obtain a high school diploma or a high school equivalency credential as a prerequisite for an instructor's license; the requirement that private barber and cosmetology schools only admit students that have completed and passed at least two years of high school or received a passing GED or HiSET examination score; and the requirement that barber licensees pay twice the fees that would have been normally collected for the reinstatement of a license that has been expired more than one year but less than three years.

According to the Board’s filing, “these rules may increase state government revenue by expanding access to the barber and cosmetology industries to individuals without a high school education, which will increase the number of individuals licensed by the Board.”

BRIEFLY NOTED

Colorado adopted rules – effective October 30, 2025 – to implement Colorado House Bill 25-1024. The Act The act requires an individual who is licensed to practice medicine or licensed to practice as an advanced practice registered nurse to make certain disclosures to patients if the individual delegates medical-aesthetic services to an individual who is not a licensed health-care provider.

Idaho’s Board of Barber and Cosmetology Services Licensing Board has published proposed “mobile establishment” rules – see page 330 of the PDF. The proposed rules would also slightly increase licensure fees. Written comments on the regulation may be submitted on or before October 22, 2025. 

Massachusetts’ Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure conducted a hearing Tuesday on H323/S200. The measures would require cosmetology schools to include at least one hour of domestic violence and sexual assault awareness training in their curriculum. The Joint Committee will also be considering H368 next week. This bill would replace the replace the shop owner seat on the Board of Registration of Cosmetology and Barbering with a licensed manicurist.

Wisconsin mobile cosmetology establishment rules became effective on October 1, 2025. The final rule can be found here.  

BILL TRACKING AND QUESTIONS

Please visit our enhanced State Legislative Tracking page to access bill text and to see what may be pending in your state(s). Please note that this resource contains bills not listed in this report that may be of interest or concern to your school or business.

Please contact StateGR@myaacs.org with comments or questions.