TDLR outlines rulemaking steps to implement House Bill 15 60; adoption, staged effective dates set

TDLR officials told attendees at a statewide summit that the consolidation of barbering and cosmetology stems from the Texas Sunset Commission’s recommendations and was enacted in House Bill 15 60.

Derek Burkhalter, assistant general counsel for the program, walked through the formal rulemaking path: agency drafting, internal fiscal and legal review, governor’s office review, advisory-board review (meetings on Aug. 19 and Oct. 31), publication in the Texas Register (Sept. 23) and a 30-day public comment period (which closed Oct. 24). "House bill 15 60 tells us what we have to do," Burkhalter said, describing the bill as the source of the agency’s required changes.

Burkhalter said the advisory board has already recommended revised rules and that TDLR plans to present the final draft to its governing commission on Dec. 6. If the commission adopts the rules, TDLR plans a staggered implementation: consolidated health-and-safety standards effective Jan. 1, 2023; new curriculum requirements effective Aug. 1, 2023; and transition to consolidated establishment and school licenses on Sept. 1, 2023. Burkhalter cautioned that some technical pieces and IT work remain in progress.

TDLR director Ray Pizzaro and licensing staff stressed the difference between laws and rules: laws are set by the Legislature and cannot be changed by TDLR, while TDLR’s rules implement the law. Pizzaro reiterated that agency staff cannot add grandfathering clauses or other statutory exceptions unless the Legislature provides them.

The agency invited additional written and oral comments ahead of the commission meeting and directed industry members to the online materials, including the Texas Register notice and an interactive guidance page on TDLR’s website. The commission’s Dec. 6 action will determine next procedural steps; stakeholders who want statutory changes were told to raise them with legislators during the next legislative session.