In this time of labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, now more than ever we need to make it easier for people to work. Two pieces of legislation being considered in the Georgia House of Representatives would reduce regulatory burdens and encourage Georgians to forge their own paths.
House Bill 996, introduced by Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton), addresses a regulatory issue that many fitness trainers and health coach practitioners face on a daily basis in Georgia. The current law regulating nutrition guidance by is outdated and vague, and does not allow these businesses and individual providers the ability to deliver individualized nutrition advice to their clients. Only registered dietitians are allowed to. I don’t know about you, but I don’t need a trainer to be a registered dietitian to trust them when they tell me to sweat a little more and put the donut down. I think most Georgians agree. In fact, 34 other states give much more latitude to these nutrition practitioners than Georgia does. Today, a Georgia consumer could hire an out-of-state health coach for online, individualized, and customized services, but would not be able to give their business to the practitioner down the street. That’s just bad policy.
Certainly, there are instances where the training and experience of a registered dietitian is what is needed: like using diet plans to treat diagnosed diseases. Often called “medical nutrition therapy”, no state allows this practice by non-licensed providers—and that shouldn’t change. But Georgia law goes far passed that reasonable guardrail, making HB 996 a necessary reform.
There are less than 2,000 registered dieticians in a state of 10.7 million people, of which more than 30% of adults are overweight according to a 2020 CDC report. We need more people providing good health advice to serve Georgians who want the support, and House Bill 996 provides the solution.
A second bill that would make it easier for people to work is House Bill 1231, sponsored by Rep. Beth Camp (R-Concord). This bill deals with beauty services, specifically blow dry styling, make-up application, and hair threading. Under current law, all of those services require an individual to hold an occupational license, usually a cosmetology license. But licensure requirements can be quite burdensome and cost thousands. This bill would allow beauticians to get right to work even without a license, so long as they don’t cut hair or use harsh dyes like those used to color hair. This makes sense. To blow dry style or apply make-up presents no public health risk—which is a core reasoning behind occupational licensure to begin with. If passed into law, more workers would be available for hire by salons, and workers could start earning an income without the opportunity cost of going to cosmetology school and risk presented by taking out thousands of dollars in students loans—something more and more people are loathe to do.
It is an election year, so we’re certainly in the middle of silly season and partisan bickering. But in the case of these two bills, good policy is good politics. Lawmakers should come together around these commonsense bills, cut some bureaucratic red tape, and deliver results to the hard-working people of Georgia.
Tony West is the deputy state director for Americans for Prosperity Georgia
