STAND. COM. REP. NO. 702

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1620

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 1620 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NATURAL HAIR BRAIDING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to exempt natural hair braiders from licensing requirements under certain conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Future of the Beauty Industry Coalition, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, Institute for Justice, and five individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the State's cosmetology license is unsuited to the practice of natural hair braiding. Natural hair braiding has very few public health risks as it does not involve the use of chemicals, cutting, or heat. While the State requires 1,800 hours of education to become a cosmetologist and 1,250 hours to become a hairdresser, almost none of that time is spent on natural hair braiding and it is not included as subject matter on national exams since so few states regulate its practice. Cosmetology programs in the State to prepare students for the licensure exam are also among the most expensive in the nation, with an average cost of $21,829, requiring natural hair braiders to spend substantial amounts of time and money for an education that is largely irrelevant to their practice. This measure will address this imbalance by exempting natural hair braiders from cosmetology licensing requirements so long as their activities are limited to braiding, which will also align Hawaii with the policies of thirty-four other states that have safely deregulated the practice.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1620 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

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JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair