Even good Samaritans can’t escape overregulation. Juan Carlos Montesdeoca from Tucson, Ariz., found that out the hard way.
Training to become a barber and eager to give back, Montesdeoca started providing free haircuts for the homeless. For about a month, the benevolent barber buzzed, clipped and trimmed hair for the less fortunate.
Then the Arizona State Board of Cosmetology swooped in.
To keep the public safe from the scourge of unregulated scissors, the board launched an investigation into the cosmetology student. To clarify, they shut down a kid trying to do a good turn.
Without a license to barber, cutting hair in Arizona is a crime. It’s written right in the state’s law code that “a person shall not perform or attempt to perform cosmetology without a license or practice in any place other than in a licensed salon.” Arizona regulators intend to see law and order enforced.
When contacted by local reporters, the executive director of the cosmetology board sounded like she was on “Law and Order: SVU”. She told the media she couldn’t comment on “an active investigation.”
But Montesdeoca got the message. Afraid of losing his livelihood, he dropped his clippers and stepped away. “They can suspend – even before I even try to get a license, they can say no. That would be very, very unfortunate,” he told The Tucson News. He’s right to be worried.
According to the Institute for Justice, cosmetology licenses are hard to come by in Arizona. An aspiring hairdresser has to go to school for more than a year to be qualified. If Montesdeoca decided to fight the law, all his time and money spent on school would go to waste.
Not all regulatory stories have unhappy endings though. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has come to the beleaguered beautician’s aid. In a strongly-worded letter, the Republican executive told the cosmetology board to cease and desist.
“I find this outrageous, and I call on you to end your investigation,” the governor wrote the board on Wednesday. “Save Mr. Montesdeoca the inconvenience of having to travel to Phoenix to appear before your body, and waive any fees or penalties the cosmetology board is considering against him.”
Hopefully the board heeds his call and let Montesdeoca get back to cutting hair.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
