 |
Legislative Update - June 2008FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT:
RICK WALLACE 850-580-4064
FAB PROFESSIONALS GETS IMPORTANT LEGISLATION PASSED
~Bill Allows Cosmetology Students to Get to Work Faster~
TALLAHASSEE— The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s (DBPR) HB601, which included important legislation submitted by The Florida Association of Beauty Professionals (FAB Professionals), was signed by Governor Crist on June 30, 2008. The DBPR’s HB 601 contained FAB Professionals’ amendment language that allows cosmetology students to receive examination approval while still in school, which will decrease the amount of time it takes students to become working, licensed professionals. This law will allow graduating cosmetology students to secure an examination date closer to their completion of hours. The exam-eligible application process can now begin while the student is in their last 100 hours of school.
“We decided to zero in on one of our industry’s biggest frustrations—getting our graduating cosmetology students to work faster. The previous law forced students to wait until after graduation to apply to take the exam. This new law will allow students to receive exam-approval while in their last 100 hours of school, which will provide our students with the ability to schedule their exam as close to graduation as possible,” stated Rick Wallace, President/CEO of FAB Professionals.
FAB Professionals worked closely with the DBPR and got approval to add the amendment to the bill. Representative Matt Hudson of District 101 championed the amendment and took great interest in the efforts to get Floridians to work faster.
“The next step is to work with DBPR’s Board of Cosmetology to implement this new law,” said Wallace. “We met with DBPR prior to the final approval by the Governor to talk about implementing the new process. This change will be a topic at the next Board of Cosmetology meeting in Orlando July 28th.”
FAB Professionals has helped over 500 students obtain approval for examination and licensing through FAB’s application review service. This process substantially reduced applicant mistakes and helped them obtain exam-approval in under 30 business days.
“FAB Professionals has done a great job in helping incoming students get to work faster by offering an application review and licensing submission program. FAB has been averaging around 17 to 22 business days for approval to take the examination,” stated Joanne Powers, Director of the Salon Professional Academy in Tampa and Chair of FAB Professionals’ Executive Committee. She added, “We are extremely pleased with the passing of this new law and look forward to getting our students to work as quickly as possible.”
For additional information, please contact Rick Wallace at 850-580-4064 or visit www.fabpro.org.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: RICK WALLACE (850) 580-4064
~COSMETOLOGY BILL VETOED BY GOVERNOR CRIST~
TALLAHASSEE—
The Florida Association of Beauty Professionals (FAB Professionals) received word that SB 996 was vetoed by Governor Crist today for the second year in a row. Last year, FAB Professionals did not support the bill due to the large jump in cosmetology hours from 1200 to 1800 hours, the implementation of an apprenticeship program and the creation of a new “hair stylist” license.
FAB Professionals worked closely with Representative Jennifer Carroll and Senator Stephen Wise, both of Jacksonville, as well as other supporters of last year’s legislation to find a common ground in this year’s session. A compromise was made to reduce the hours from 1800 to 1500, not allow language for an apprenticeship program, and to retain the hair stylist license.
“FAB members were worried about such a large gap in last year’s bill from the 1000-hour hair stylist license to the 1800-hour cosmetology license and the hair stylist license not being valid in a majority of the other states,” said Rick Wallace, Executive Director of FAB Professionals.
“We believe the real concern is the lack of training our nail and skin professionals receive here in Florida. The bill allowed for an increase in hours and required them to pass a state board,” Wallace stated. FAB Professionals is moving forward encouraging the industry to increase the hours of nail and skin hours and self-implementing a national certification upon graduating from school.
“This association will be working closely with our member schools to create the most effective and up-to-date education programs for our incoming professionals. We have tremendous support from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) and the Department of Education’s Commission for Independent Education (CIE),” Wallace said.
FAB Professionals is waiting for another piece of important legislation to be signed by the Governor. The DBPR’s HB 601 contains FAB Professionals’ amendment language that will allow cosmetology students to receive examination approval while still in school. The law will help the graduating students to secure an examination date closer to their completion of hours.
“FAB Professionals has done a great job in helping incoming students get to work faster by offering an application review and licensing submission program. They have been averaging around 17 to 22 business days for approval to take the examination,” stated Joanne Powers, Director of the Salon Professional Academy in Tampa and Chair of FAB Professionals’ Executive Board. She added, “this legislation will only help get our students to work faster with FAB’s help.”
Legislative Update - February 2008 Legislative Update - December 2007 |