Senate Bill 22, a cleanup measure to last year’s cosmetology reform, advanced out of the Senate Standing Committee on Licensing and Occupations on Feb. 18 with a favorable roll call vote.

Sponsor Sen. Reginald Thomas, D‑District 13, told the committee the bill addresses omissions from last year’s reforms and “does 4 things.” He said the measure extends the right to retake licensing exams to all cosmetologists, clarifies emergency‑shutdown authority for facilities intentionally using unlicensed workers, broadens qualifications for the board’s executive director, and adds licensure reciprocity for comparable licenses from U.S. territories. “If you look on on section 1, sub paragraph 5 on page 1...we have done is, extend that right, not just to nail technicians and aestheticians, but to all cosmetologists,” Thomas said.

The bill allows unlimited retakes of the full cosmetology examination, with a one‑month waiting period between attempts. Joni Upchurch, executive director of the Kentucky Board of Cosmetology, told the committee the intent is to “ensure more accurate fairness and equality among all of our licensees across the Commonwealth.” Ena Stevens, general counsel for the Board of Cosmetology, described the agency’s focus on implementing “the due process goals of the committee” and on limiting emergency shutdowns to “those narrow instances that truly require an emergency shutdown.”

Thomas said the bill responds to recommendations in the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee’s November 2024 report on the Board of Cosmetology and to constituent concerns across the state. On enforcement, SB 22 would permit the board to close a facility immediately if it finds the facility knowingly and intentionally employs unlicensed persons; a hearing and due‑process procedures could follow, the sponsor said.

Committee members asked implementation questions. Sen. Jimmy Higdon confirmed each retest will require payment of the testing fee. Sen. McDaniel asked whether the exam is taken section‑by‑section or in one sitting; staff and witnesses confirmed “the entire exam” must be retaken each time.

The committee voted to adopt the committee substitute and then voted favorably on SB 22. Chair Rocky Adams announced the bill “passes with all favorable votes.”

The measure now moves to the full Senate for further action.