And once those common-sense changes are made, can we start requiring licenses for Intuitive Artists, Crystal Healers, Angel Channelers, Astrologists, and the like?

Seriously, if you're going to create, say, an intuitive painting of my wedding day and my aura gets all out of shape because the purples you selected were far too intense, I want to make sure there's an agency I can contact for redress!

Any good hairstylist will tell you they didn't learn how to cut hair until after they graduated.

Cosmetology school is a $14,000 fee to have the right to take a State test.

Many hairstylists in the Hispanic neighborhoods are illegal immigrants whose shops often get fined for not having a licenses.

On a side note black hair is the most fragile hair of all. They consume like 90% of all hair products. Getting someone to teach you how to work on black hair .....well you have to be black to even be considered. It's like a secret society type deal.

I think the top black hair guy at one point was a blonde white homo.

Sounds great. Too bad it's only Texas.

I find that Asian women do my hair the best, which makes complete sense.

Texas is unique in that it requires a professional engineers' license for almost any engineering job. So, an electrical engineer going to work for an electronics company has to take a licensing test containing a bunch of questions on building wiring, none of which are applicable to electronics. It's notable that when NASA hires engineers at Johnson Space Center, it ignores this law, and the state doesn't say boo about it.

At least in my area, you can be a barber or a cosmetologist.
Barbers do men's hair. They go into an apprentice program, which means they buy their equipment and cut hair for free. The shop teaches them and collects the money, but the apprentice keeps the tips. Fairly reasonable. It's a pretty cheap way to learn. You aren't really making money, but you're not shelling out several thousand for school, either.

Cosmetologists, on the other hand, have to learn every aspect of hair, make-up, and nails, even if they just want to do one of them. The several friends/acquaintances I have who've done the program complained about how little they learned about each aspect, and how hard the test is. They all go into the business completely unready to do it for real AND massively in debt.

Nice first step. If we elect him, will he actually remember this promise?

Maybe after that he can start in on other things, like all the other licenses that are required for stupid things. Did you know you need a license to sell flowers? To import sweet potatoes (but normal potatoes are apparently fine)? Heck, you can't even get a permit to sell food prepared in your home - it's just flat out illegal - sorry about your school bake sale.

Small government - I'll believe it when I see it...

@Cousin Dave: I must have somehow dodged the PE license stuff. I graduated as an EE, but have always worked with software. Never had anyone say anything about my lack of a PE license.

Companies doing civil engineering insist on licensed engineers; I always assumed that this is for liability reasons. But for other fields like electrical engineering I always assumed it was just something extra for the resumé, not really necessary. Have I missed something all these years?

Texas is unique in that it requires a professional engineers' license for almost any engineering job. So, an electrical engineer going to work for an electronics company has to take a licensing test containing a bunch of questions on building wiring, none of which are applicable to electronics. It's notable that when NASA hires engineers at Johnson Space Center, it ignores this law, and the state doesn't say boo about it.

Posted by: Cousin Dave at August 12, 2014 5:21 AM

State law doesn't apply on Federal property and federal projects.
But Davis Bacon does. Even in a right to work state.

This is true of tax law as well. Encountered this many times as a contracting officer.

As far as The Texas requirement for a PE, I suspect that one must sign off on every plan. However, I know a lot of people who have gotten a job in Texas with just the EIT.
One assumes that there is some provision for engineers to work under a PE until they are legible to take the PE exam themselves.

From talking with my barber years ago...
There was a couple of different licenses -Barber, cosmetologist, etc. The licenses are mainly about safety. Does he know what to do if clips a bit of ear? Does he know how to keep his equipment dis-infected. For the people who do hair color, do they know what to do if some of it gets in the clients eyes? According to him there was nothing on the test about actual good cutting of hair (to look good). He said since he was a member of the tribe it was just a couple months of apprenticeship and a couple of mornings of training - and the test was easy.

Cousin Dave,

You are wrong about the licensing requirement for electrical engineers. PE licenses lets the business transfer legal liability from the company to the engineer. So some businesses like to hire only PEs so they aren't at fault if anything goes wrong. But it is not required by the state except for public works and buildings.

I honestly know only a few other electrical engineers that are professional engineers. And they work in Oklahoma in the construction industry. Can't say I've ever met one in the oil and gas industry.

Texas has the distinction of requiring more occupations be licensed than any other state. It's a pure protectionist money grab.

Obviously, the positive comments on this post are from people who don't actually live and work in Texas. Politics are just as dirty here as any Chicago or New York smoky back room dealings.

If you believe Greg Abbott has any intention of following through on this campaign promise, I've got a bridge in Houston I would love to sell to you.

Mr Abbot is just another slimy politician. If his mouth is open, you know he's lying.

I think that is a bit harsh Phil. The beauty of Texas is our part time legislature. The bums don't hang around as long and can't create as many problems.

- A Bad Haircut Will Not Kill You -

Tell that to this lady: http://www.ksla.com/story/26261496/man-arrested-for-hitting-girlfriend-with-belt-after-bad-haircut

I am guessing that my, erm, not-inexpensive Texas hair salon will continue to require that those it hires have formal training, whatever the state says. And while I can give up many things, my hairdresser is not one of them. I do think that if this passes it will lower prices somewhat in the hair industry in Texas…but I'm guessing what will happen in many places is that having a population of hairdressers that is 100% trained with the certificates et al to prove it will become a major emphasis in advertising. We shall see...

Ben, maybe the state law has changed. I once worked with a NASA guy at JSC who had formerly been a manager at Texas Instruments, and he was the one that told me about the state law.

The law may have changed. They don't really publicize it when that happens so I wouldn't know. I made my name link to the relevant web page.

I do know that when I graduated ~2000 they weren't even requiring PEs in EE to sign off on buildings. Instead they were using EITs and issuing a waiver. Essentially there were so few PEs that drawings couldn't get signed off even at major firms.

I interviewed with a PE in Oklahoma but the job was just not for me. The pay was great (~100k starting) but the engineer was so boring I knew I would never last. Understandably no one wants creative electronics in construction.

There's been an ongoing threat to require licensing for horseshoers, but luckily we're making enough noise to prevent it. We already have industry-promoted certification for different experience levels. The trouble is, even if a person is certified, there's no guarantee your horse will get the work he needs, as I've seen too many times. If anything, certification can be a liability, since it makes it easier for a disgruntled client to sue.