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AJC.com > Legislature > Georgia Beat > Archives > 2005 > March > 31 > Entry
Hair-braiders regulation dies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Legislation to regulate hair-braiders died in the House today after a prolonged and pointed debate during which one lawmaker complained about there being more discussion on the floor about cosmetology than the $17.4 billion state budget.
Senate Bill 145 would have allowed the State Board of Cosmetology to license and regulate hair-braiders after they obtained enough credit hours at state-approved schools or internships.
Some lawmakers supported the idea on the grounds it may lead to more sanitary conditions in hair-braiding salons. Other opposed the idea, wondering if the law would apply to people who braid hair in their homes, even students who braid one another’s hair at college.
After debate over the matter passed the half-hour mark on the final day of the session, Rep. Tom Bordeaux (D-Savannah) rose to question the House rules of debate.
“How can we be permitted … to ask more questions about hair-braiding than we did about the state budget which affects the lives of Georgia’s children?” he asked.
On Tuesday night, debate over the budget was cut short after about 20 minutes.
Speaker Glenn Richardson responded to Bordeaux’s attack by saying he did not see the Savannah Democrat at numerous conference committee meetings on the budget. Richardson then allowed a motion to table the hair-braiding bill. It passed overwhelmingly.
“It’s not going to make it this afternoon,” Richardson said of the hair-braiding bill, after the vote, effectively killing any chance of the legislation being enacted into law this year.
After a brief lunch break, cooler heads prevailed. Richardson spoke from the speaker’s chair and publicly apologized to Bordeaux, prompting applause throughout the chamber.
“A public act demands a public apology,” Richardson said. “The chair is ever mindful of the tension of the final day.”
Bordeaux rose and accepted the apology, amid more applause from his colleagues.
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