HB 742 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Barbers; establishes licensure for barbershop trainees.

Summary
Barbers and cosmetologists; barbershop trainees. Establishes a path to licensure for barbershop trainees, as defined by the bill, through employment at a registered barbershop under the supervision of one or more licensed barbers. The bill allows any barbershop trainee to take the examination approved by the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology upon submission of a signed statement to the Board attesting that such trainee has the necessary skills to competently practice barbering. Barbershop trainees shall not exceed four years of training for competency-based licensure and shall pass the examination approved by the Board within four years of commencing training at any barbershop. The bill authorizes the Board to (i) develop forms for barbershop and barbershop trainee registration and the attestation required for examination; (ii) waive any part of the examination requirement for good cause; and (iii) establish penalties for any violation of the provisions of the bill.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Jan 27, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced General Laws Substitute · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended from its original introduction to a General Laws Substitute version, primarily changing the document format and presentation rather than substantive policy. The core legislative content regarding barbershop trainees and barbering definitions remains substantively unchanged, with the main differences being formatting adjustments, page numbering, and the addition of committee markup indicating this is a substitute version offered by the House Committee on General Laws.
TECHNICAL

Document formatting changed from a simple introduction format to a formal substitute bill format with page numbers, committee markup, and official House Committee on General Laws designation.

Date changed from January 14, 2026 (original introduction) to January 22, 2026 (substitute version offered date), reflecting the legislative process timeline.

Added committee markup indicating this is an amendment in the nature of a substitute proposed by the House Committee on General Laws, with patron designation updated to Delegate Williams.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
7
Key actions
3
Committee
5
Jan 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Lower · Passed
House committee offered
lower
Jan 21, 2026
Committee
Assigned HGL sub: Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on General Laws
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Wren Williams
Wren Williams
RRepublican
VA
47