Oftentimes, in order for a ridiculous regulation to be rejected, it must be litigated in court, frequently with the legal help of Institute for Justice (IJ)—if it’s even struck then. Sometimes, as Kentucky showed this week, the state legislature nixes the law before it goes to court.
IJ litigates a multitude of cases related to small government, many of which involve economic liberty and occupational licensing reforms. States often have arbitrary licensing requirements with little or no relation to the profession for which the license is being obtained. Licenses are too often costly, serve to do little more than keep competition out of the industry, and don’t serve a purpose related to safety. When someone’s liberty is harmed by these regulations, IJ litigates.
Kentucky’s African hair braiding regulation is much like one IJ would litigate. It requires that people who do African-style hair braiding take about 1,800 hours of unrelated coursework and take a six-month internship in order to obtain a license.
But IJ won’t need to litigate this one.
Earlier this week, with the help of IJ and Americans for Prosperity (AFP), Kentucky’s legislature passed a bill to eliminate licensing requirements for African-style hair braiders. It passed with strong bipartisan support, and is now headed to the governor’s desk.
However, CN2 reports that, earlier this week, Democratic Kentucky State Rep. Hubert Collins, whose wife chairs the Kentucky Board of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists, attempted to tack on an amendment to the bill. The amendment would have required braiders be U.S. citizens and pay $1,500 to—you guessed it—the Kentucky Board of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists. That’s 60 times the cost of a cosmetology license, paid to the board his wife chairs.
Collins claimed his amendment was an attempt to make sure braiders are correctly licensed.
“I just wonder what effect it will have if you allow an organization or people like that to do those hairstyles without having a license. You know, I can see where it would spread to other things and they would be allowed to do those without license where others that do that hair have to have licenses to do it.”
Despite his clear and detailed concern, his colleagues disagreed. Democratic State Rep. Reginald Meeks said he asked Collins to pull the amendment, adding, “I think the amendment will be seen for what it is.”
Julia Crigler, Kentucky state director for AFP, said more bluntly, “We have elected officials seemingly putting their personal interests, in this case his wife’s personal interests, ahead of regular people trying to contribute to their communities.”
Regulations like these are more plentiful than one might think, but fortunately some politicians are willing to eliminate them.
