AN ACT to exempt licensees who are in active practice as cosmetologists and have twenty consecutive years of experience from continuing education requirements.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 88B‑21(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Prior to renewal of a license, a teacher, cosmetologist, esthetician, or manicurist shall annually complete eight hours of Board‑approved continuing education for each year of the licensing cycle. A cosmetologist may complete up to 24 hours of required continuing education at any time within the cosmetologist's three‑year licensing cycle. Licensees shall submit written documentation to the Board showing that they have satisfied the requirements of this subsection. A licensee who is in active practice as a cosmetologist, esthetician, or manicurist, has practiced for at least 10 consecutive years in that profession and is 60 years of age or older does not have to meet the continuing education requirements of this subsection. A licensee who is in active practice as a cosmetologist and has at least 20 consecutive years of experience as a cosmetologist, does not have to meet the continuing education requirements of this subsection, but shall report any continuing education classes completed to the Board, whether the continuing education classes are Board‑approved or not. Promotion of products and systems shall be allowed at continuing education given in‑house or at trade shows. Continuing education classes may also be offered in secondary languages as needed. No member of the Board may offer continuing education courses as required by this section."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 28th day of June, 2007.

	_____________________________________
		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	_____________________________________
		 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	_____________________________________
		 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2007