DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO) — A bill allowing hair stylists and cosmetologists to practice outside their brick-and-mortar spaces is moving forward in the Iowa Senate. Members of the Senate State Government Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to advance the bill.
Right now under Iowa law, licensed cosmetologists have to stay in one spot. Hair stylists can only go mobile under “extenuating circumstances” due to a disability or death of a customer. They can’t make house calls. They can’t legally go mobile to help a bride get ready on her wedding day.
This bill looks to change that. It would essentially change the definition of “salon” from only a fixed location to something that is “readily movable.”
State Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire, said the bill would give barbers and cosmetologists more flexibility across the state. It would also bring state law up to industry standards.
“I think it allows them to better serve their customers. You know, some people are confined to their homes, or they don’t have transportation, or maybe there’s a bridal party or somebody that would like you to come to their home to perform the services so they don’t have to take a big group to the salon, so I think there’s a lot of really pragmatic examples of why this makes sense,” Cournoyer said.
Though the bill would allow hair stylists and cosmetologists to go mobile, they still would be regulated the State Board of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences and the State Board of Barbering.
The bill has come up in the past and failed. Cournoyer said she thinks this time it will become law.