Hair stylists and cosmetologists packed a hearing room in Olympia Monday morning to get clarity on Senate Bill 5326, also known as the salon booth rental bill.
Many that spoke before the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee shared concerns that the proposed law could harm some independent hair stylists and others in the beauty industry.
Senate Bill 5326 sought to make hair stylists who rent booths or chairs pay more taxes. A section of a bill that would have made booth renting in a salon illegal was dropped after a public outcry.
"I didn't mean to scare them, I am sorry they are scared," said the bill's sponsor Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines.
Keiser said salon owners would not lose their businesses under the bill.
"It is not going to happen, period," said Keiser.
The bill will still include portions that would remove certain exemptions for cosmetology booth renters, including exemptions from unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and B&O taxes.
Keiser said the bill is in the early stages of the legislative process. She did not know what the final version would look like, but she said the state has "many issues" surrounding independent contractors and employees.
The amended bill was also expanded to include barbers in addition to cosmetologists. That change was made after hairdressers pointed out that leaving barbers out of the new regulations unfairly targeted women entrepreneurs, because a greater number of cosmetologists are women, and barbers tend to be men.
Stylists and cosmetologists from across Washington state made it to Olympia to deliver personal testimony; several came from Moses Lake, Kennewick and Spokane.
Jackie Barrett, owner of Olympia's Jacyln Raen Salon, rents out booths to two stylists.
She said not having to pay for unemployment or worker's compensation makes it more efficient for her to run her business. Barret notes she still pays plenty of taxes as a salon owner.
"We hold our own business licenses, our own business insurance as well as overhead," said Barrett.
At the beginning of public testimony, Senator Karen Keiser, D-Kent, said the goal of SB 5326 is to find "tax fairness for both stylists and salon owners."
More than 1,000 people showed up for the hearing. The overwhelming majority opposed the legislation.