Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed a bill Monday requiring 60 hours of training for unlicensed hair braiders, which in the short term means only licensed cosmetologists can braid hair as a business.

Sanford said he hopes with the next session to do away with all education required for hair braiders. Two lawmakers joined him Monday to say they would sponsor the necessary bills to remedy the veto and do away with training.

During the summer months, Grand Strand visitors can be seen with braids they have gotten at local shops.

Conway resident Alexandria Gore, whose oldest daughter, Olivia Gore, 19, is finishing cosmetology school, said the governor's decision will have long-term benefits.

"In the long run, it works out," she said. "In the short term, it could be a more difficult thing for those who want to braid hair."

A compromise was reached in the spring session requiring 60 hours of training; it was tacked onto state Rep. Alan Clemmons' bill that allows people to transfer their prescriptions more easily. Sanford said the training hours were out of line with other licensing regulations by the state and the laws should not have been spliced together.

Because of the veto, the law reverts back to requiring unlicensed hair braiders to have 1,500 hours of training to earn a cosmetology license, said Pat Adams, chairwoman of the S.C. Board of Cosmetology and co-owner of a Columbia salon.

During the debate, people have disagreed about the amount of training needed for hair braiders, but officials and those in the braiding business said Monday that some type of training for hair cleanliness is needed.

"Preferably, I'll say no regulations whatsoever of hair braiding," Sanford said. "It takes neither 1,500 hours nor 60 hours to braid hair. There's just some things the government doesn't need to be involved in, and how one braids hair on the beach would be top of that list."

The bill will go back before the House of Representatives and the Senate, both of which will require a two-thirds vote to override Sanford's veto.

Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, and Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, joined Sanford at Monday's veto announcement. They will introduce separate bills on pharmacy legislation and revisiting pre-licensing education for hair braiders.

The state Board of Cosmetology initially wanted braiders to receive 1,500 hours of training, the same earned by licensed cosmetologists.

The board later offered a compromise of 300 hours and later agreed to 60 hours.

"Fifteen-hundred hours required to do people's hair makes no sense," Cobb-Hunter said. "When you think of women of color growing up doing hair, on my part, it was ridiculous. I don't think it's the business of the state to place undo restrictions on people braiding hair. People are trying to make a living."

Patricia Stephens, owner of Backwoods Braids Beauty Salon in Surfside Beach, plans to open St. Stephen's Hair Braiding Academy by early 2005 to train braiders. She said 300 hours is a reasonable training period.

"Hair braiding has expanded so much that it needs to be [taught] by itself," she said. "They only teach you the basics in [cosmetology] school."

Eileen Harrell, owner of Funky Beach Surf in Hilton Head Island, had to stop braiding hair immediately last year when her store received a cease-and-desist notice from the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations.

She said she was threatened with a fine of up to $50,000 and up to one year in prison.

"They put a lot of good people out of work," said Harrell, who said she agreed Monday with Sanford's decision. "Hair braiding is something people want."

COSMETOLOGY

Hair-braiding debate continues