How California’s bureaucracy can prevent working-class transplants from resuming their career

Uprooting your life to a new state is never an easy experience. In my case, it was due to tragic circumstances.

A few years ago, I lost my youngest son Adrian in a motorcycle accident. I was devastated and ended up in a very dark place.  

My family and friends urged me to get out of my home state, Texas, so I could heal. They suggested I relocate where my eldest son was already living, hoping that it would help me get into a better place. So in 2022 I made the trip to California with only a suitcase and my other children.

Back in Texas, I worked as a cosmetologist and figured that I could do the same in California by using my Texas cosmetology and barbering license so I could start making money immediately.

Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out to be that simple. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I could drive a car in California with a Texas driver’s license, but California law doesn’t allow the same kind of reciprocity for cosmetology licenses.

So to cut hair, I needed to get a whole new California license.

After requesting the paperwork from Texas that California required, days and weeks went by. I called the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology daily.

Money was getting extremely tight, and it was frustrating knowing that I had a skill that could pay my bills but I was stuck waiting for an approval. I was ultimately unable to work for almost six months — six months where others who are less fortunate could have ended up needing public assistance or possibly even homeless if they couldn’t make money to support themselves.

It was the type of unnecessary bureaucracy that hurts working-class people.

Thankfully, other cosmetologists and barbers may have an easier time. The California Legislature is considering Assembly Bill 1328, which would establish multi-state cosmetology and barbering licensing similar to driving. If someone can legally and safely cut hair in another state, they should also be able to do the same in California without having to jump through bureaucratic hoops.

It’s the sort of hurdle that can prevent workers from moving here.

Since California is already a leader in reducing barriers to entry in this field and has one of the country’s lowest hour requirements to get certified for cosmetology, there is little risk in California accepting certifications from other states.

Within six months of getting my California license, I became a manager at the Sport Clips in Davis, and was able to buy my own car and sign a lease on an apartment. While I feel blessed in how this all turned out, I think of others who lack the family support I had. 

For people in circumstances like mine, all that we ask for is any opportunity to ease the transition, especially when it comes to our ability to make a living.

A multi-state license as AB 1328 would create means I could have gone to work the day I arrived in California. In an industry filled with women and single parents, waiting for months to work is not an option and puts far too many workers in situations they don’t deserve.