Earlier this year, the Senate approved the measure. The bill, which passed the House subcommittee Wednesday, has been refined to address objections from those who have blocked it in past years.
It now heads to the full Medical, Municipal and Military Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Tattooist Ron White, who tested the law and lost in a case that went to the state Supreme Court, said the bill is needed because tattooing "continues from Myrtle Beach all the way to North Augusta."
White objected to the provision forbidding tattooists to have body piercing in the same shop, saying the two routinely go together. If the idea is to prevent those shops, it will backfire because tattooists will open body piercing shops next door, White said.
The subcommittee declined to change the bill. If changed, it would have to go back to the Senate, and that could delay it again, Rep. David Umphlett, R-Moncks Corner, said.
Information from: The Sun News