New legislation regarding barbers has been a quite a debatable topic over the past few months. First, it started with barbers wanting to create laws that would regulate who could use the iconic symbol of barbers—the spiraling, tri-colored barber pole. Now, lawmakers in Kansas have had the burden to decide whether barbers should have to retake exams upon re-entering into their profession.
The Kansas State Board of Barbering wanted to change the laws that surround the profession – in particular, the laws that determine how long an unemployed barber or barber school instructor can be out of the field before he or she must retake the barber exam. The Board was trying to change the law that requires barbers, barber instructors and other similar positions in barbering to retest after three years of being out of the field. They were pushing to decrease the time limit to two years. The Kansas State Board of Barbering declares that this is a safety issues, and it must be re-evaluated.
However, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback does not consider this a legal issue. In fact, Brownback vetoed the bill on Friday April 6, 2012, and further backed up his opinion by calling this change an unnecessary government burden. Brownback, who is a Republican, believes that the government’s role in the economy must be limited in order for it to flourish. This particular measure would have caused barbers to have to pay to re-enter into the field after just two years instead of three, which Brownback says is not appropriate in this type of economy.
Brownback reportedly said, “Now is not the time to add layer after layer of regulatory fees, burdensome certification requirements, barriers to entry, and bureaucracy to our economy.”
