Braiding mischief

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums

Gov. Mark Sanford used his veto pen earlier this week to strike a senseless requirement that would have made hair braiders receive an extraordinary amount of training in order to interweave a few strands of hair. And in doing so, he sent an important message to state legislators about sending him clean legislation that doesn't contain unrelated laws.

Sanford went to Myrtle Beach Monday to veto H. 4455, a bill that was amended to require hair braiders to receive 60 hours of training. Many cosmetologists don't want hair braiders taking some of their business, so they have lobbied for outrageous training requirements for these people who do what's really simple work.

Myrtle Beach was a good site for the veto because many hair braiders sell their services to tourists visiting our beaches. As Sanford noted, the training required of hair braiders is "absurd" compared to many other licensing requirements — such as eight hours of training to carry a concealed handgun. And the notion covered by the law "runs completely counter to the principles of limited government I've always believed in."

The governor wants two things, both of them reasonable: First, he wants the Legislature to send him a "clean" H. 4455, a perfectly good bill that made it easier for consumers to transfer prescriptions. That bill shouldn't have been weighted down with the hair braiding amendment in a legislative practice known as bobtailing. Second, the governor wants a bill that "completely eliminates these absurd hair braiding requirements."

Hair braiding done right can enhance a person's appearance, but hair braiding done wrong doesn't cause serious damage. The training requirements for hair braiding are overkill and should be eliminated.