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Read. Follow. Verify.General Assembly restricts skin treatments and raises licensing hours for beauty professionals
Last action · March 27, 2026: 3rd reading, passed 64-18 with Floor Amendment (1) received in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)Sponsor: Deanna Gordon
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What This Bill Would Do
AN ACT relating to cosmetology.
Beauty professionals and salon owners across Kentucky face new operational standards and higher financial penalties under the updated training and supervision rules.
- The Kentucky Board of Cosmetology is the state regulatory body responsible for licensing and setting professional standards for beauty professionals and training schools in Kentucky. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Cosmetologists
Must comply with updated training hour requirements, supervision rules for deep skin procedures, and renewal deadlines.
Estheticians
Subject to specific educational hour mandates, board oversight, and scope of practice limitations regarding skin treatments.
Nail Technicians
Required to complete 450 hours of study within five years and adhere to updated salon management and operation rules.
Kentucky Board of Cosmetology
Granted expanded authority to investigate unlicensed activity, issue emergency orders, conduct hearings, and assess administrative penalties.
Key Facts
- Restructures the Kentucky Board of Cosmetology to consist of seven members appointed by the Governor with specific professional backgrounds.
- Mandates that board members receive $100 per day for attending meetings, plus travel and expense reimbursements.
- Requires health and sanitation administrative regulations to be approved by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services before taking effect.
- Specifies that licenses and permits may be renewed annually from July 1 through July 31.
Frequently Asked Questions
What services are restricted unless performed under medical supervision?
What is the penalty for providing cosmetology services without a license?
How many training hours are required to obtain a cosmetologist license?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed both. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
7 actions- Mar 27, 2026SenateFloor3rd reading, passed 64-18 with Floor Amendment (1) received in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)
- Mar 20, 2026Housefloor amendment (1) filed
- Mar 19, 2026Houseposted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Friday, March 20 2026
- Mar 12, 2026HouseFloor2nd reading, to Rules
- Mar 11, 2026Housereported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
- Mar 9, 2026HouseCommitteeto Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations (H)
Show 1 earlier action
- Mar 4, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Stricter Medical Boundaries for Esthetic Services
The bill explicitly establishes a biological boundary (the basal layer of the epidermis) below which estheticians and cosmetologists cannot operate without medical supervision.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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