Youngstown Daily Legal News

Cosmetology law update targets human trafficking

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: April 27, 2012

Rep. Cheryl Grossman, R-Grove City, has presented the legislature with a proposal to overhaul the state’s cosmetology law.

“When I was mayor of Grove City, I helped welcome ... the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology in a new state-of-the-art location,” she said. “Little did I know during the building and permitting process I would enter a world of alleged human trafficking, a world of job opportunities for young people and one of the largest licensing boards in Ohio.”

While Grossman said House Bill 453 would usher in common-sense updates to Ohio’s cosmetology laws, which were last revised in 2003, she says she is most intrigued by the bill’s provisions to combat human trafficking.

Grossman said Kevin Miller, the former director of the OSBC, discovered a potential human trafficking ring operating out of a “front” school in the Cleveland area.

“That discovery led to a highway patrol investigation and raids in several cities from Zanesville to suburban Cleveland,” she said.

“That experience convinced me ... to help upgrade the cosmetology statutes to provide the opportunity to allow the state board to investigate unlicensed facilities, to provide some security procedures for candidates seeking licensure and let the board do its work without cluttering up courts and county prosecutors with procedural work.”

Grossman described the current process as cumbersome and said she believes it “fosters an environment of inefficiency and ineffectiveness in meeting the public’s expectations.”

If HB 453 is signed into law, Grossman said it would provide new enforcement powers to the agency so it could crack down on illegally-operating salons that have been running outside of the law.

“The board currently can only stand on the sidelines and watch,” she said.

In addition to its aim to permit the OSBC to investigate or inspect the activities or premises of any person alleged to have violated cosmetology laws, regardless of whether the person is licensed by the board, HB 453 would lower the fees associated with licensure.

Grossman said the bill was crafted in efforts to “make it easier to create cosmetology small business jobs in Ohio.”

She also noted that the proposal streamlines state regulation while maintaining standards of education, cleanliness and safety.

OSBC Executive Director Jim Trakas testified last week before the House State Government and Elections committee in support of HB 453.

Trakas acknowledged that the proposed legislation may not be the legislature’s “highest priority” but said the state board is dedicated to helping the state’s cosmetology industry grow and prosper.

“We believe that HB 453 is progressive in the sense that it sets fair and appropriate standards of educational attainment, safety and sanitation standards,” he said.

Trakas, who applauded Grossman’s advocacy of the proposal, said it is especially important that the bill is enforceable.

“I am here to tell you that several parts of existing law just are not enforceable,” he said. “We want to be honest with you and your constituents by asking for changes to unenforceable parts of our law. We also think that some of existing law is burdensome and can be a barrier to entry.”

HB 453 touches on the practices of braiding and threading and would establish additional continuing education requirements designed to educate independent contractors on tax and business law.

The bill would also carve out a year-long grace period to inform the public of its provisions.

“We are trying to better teach all of our qualified professionals about our laws and rules, to their benefit and to the public,” Trakas said. “We are asking for the unique step of offering “corrective action courses” for people who violate this law for them to learn about the law, and its importance in protecting the public.”

Grossman urged lawmakers to move the proposal forward.

“I hope you will take swift action on HB 453 to give our state cosmetology board the tools that it needs to get the job done on behalf of our constituents,” she said.

HB 453 has yet to be scheduled for a second hearing.

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