Lawmakers scrap stringent manicurist licensing requirements

After a last-minute intervention by the Legislature, Alaska manicurists will not face an August deadline to complete a new set of licensing requirements some argued would put many out of business.

In "last-minute maneuvering," the House stuck the manicurist licensing language from House Bill 222 into Senate Bill 51, which passed with a vote of 16-4 Wednesday, the last day of the regular session.

If signed by Gov. Bill Walker, the bill means manicurists will not have to pass a written test or complete 250 hours of education in order to earn a license, guidelines required under a 2015 bill that were due to take effect Aug. 31.

The bill passed Wednesday returns to the former state standard: Manicurists will need to complete 12 hours of education, and they will not have to pass a written test.

Proponents of the 2015 bill had argued the standard is one of the lowest in the nation and inadequate to ensure customer safety.

But as the deadline for the new requirements approached, manicurists — many of them immigrants who speak English as a second language — protested, saying the new requirements would make it impossible for them to continue their jobs.

On Wednesday, lawmakers said the reset was necessary to avoid job losses, according to a statement from the office of Rep. Matt Claman, an Anchorage Democrat who had been working on the issue.

In the future, lawmakers plan to write new requirements that strike a balance between keeping jobs and ensuring health and safety, according to Claman.