Legislation Would Set Rules For Nail Salons

By Jan Howard

A proposed bill that would require the licensing of nail technicians and inspection of hair and nail salons is under consideration in the current session of the General Assembly in Hartford.

However, whether or not it will pass depends on how legislators from the cities and large towns feel about what would be considered an unfunded mandate.

The bill was proposed by Sen Toni Harp (D-Hartford), co-chairman of the Public Health Committee. A public hearing on the proposed bill was held in March. It was passed out of committee recently and on April 12 was referred to the Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis. As of April 18, it was believed the bill would go to the floor for a vote.            

According to Newtown Health District Director Mark Cooper, the state already has regulations that allow a town to set up an ordinance requiring licensing and inspections of salons, but it is not mandated. He said only a few municipalities have enacted such ordinances.

He said Newtown only inspects upon complaint, and complaints are rare. “There is no clear regulation on what you’re looking at. We would probably call the state in if there were a number of complaints. There would be limited enforcement for the town. We would write a letter recommending that the state come down.”

Jason Bashura, the town’s senior sanitarian, said he is unaware of any major complaints about local salons. Questions in the past have been more procedural, he noted, and questions about general sanitation would be referred to the state Department of Health.

Mr Cooper feels the state Department of Health (DOH) would have responsibility for enforcing the law.

 However, it would appear the intent of the law would be to have municipalities conduct the annual inspections. The proposed bill reads as follows:  “All salons shall be inspected regarding their sanitary condition 1) by the department [DOH] whenever the department deems it necessary, and 2) by the local director of health on an annual basis.”

Mr Cooper said if Newtown’s Health District would be responsible for the inspections, it would not be a big problem because his existing staff would be able to handle the few additional inspections that would be required.

If we had to inspect, it wouldn’t be terribly hard,” Mr Bashura said. “They would have to tell us what to look for because there is no baseline inspection.”

Mr Cooper said he believes the bill would have a problem being passed by the legislature because it would cause major problems for the cities where there would be a large number of additional inspections that would require more staff.

“It would be an unfunded mandate that would not get done if there was no help from the state,” Mr Cooper said.

 “At the same time that more inspections would be required of the Department of Health and local health districts under this new law, Gov John G. Rowland is proposing to cut the state DOH budget by ten percent.

“I don’t question the need for regulatory oversight,” Mr Cooper said. “But it’s another thing without resources.”

Mr Cooper said there is concern regarding incidences of infection and passing of communicable diseases if nail instruments are not appropriately sanitized. Also, he noted, “Fluids should be one user only.”

The proposed bill would allow towns to charge up to $100 for a license, which would help offset the cost of enforcement. “It would be very helpful, but we wouldn’t need to hire several people. It’s not a big problem in Newtown. We might have four to six facilities so it would not be difficult for us to comply with another unfunded mandate,” Mr Cooper said. “In the cities it wouldn’t be sufficient.”

Since there is no current local licensing of salons, the state Department of Health would have to provide the names of salons in each municipality, he said.

Judy Volpe of Avance Esthetiques in Newtown said the law would be a good one, if passed.

“I think it would be great,” she said. “Licensing for nail technicians is long overdue.”

“It would lend credibility to the profession and make nail salons stay on top of things,” she said. “It would be good.”

Ms Volpe said the state attempted to pass a similar bill last year. She said that when she called to see what she would be required to do under the proposed law, she was told it was dead. “I was told they didn’t have the manpower for it.”

She said inspections of the salons would make them operate under appropriate standards. “They should be sanitary,” she noted.

Ms Volpe said that Avance Esthetiques uses a medical autoclave to sanitize nail instruments, but most salons do not. Ms Volpe said instruments for each of her clients are sterilized in the autoclave and stored in a sealed bag. After use, they are re-sterilized.

“With the amount of fungus that is out there, sanitizing liquids are not adequate,” she said. However, she added, nail salons are not the only place a fungal condition can be transmitted. Funguses can be caught anywhere, such as at a gym.”