Several types of niche beauty service providers are now free to offer their services in Mississippi without being forced to pay for expensive classes that don’t teach them how to perform their trade. Under a newly enacted state law, eyebrow threaders, eyelash technicians, and makeup artists can open for business without obtaining esthetician licenses.
The new law was prompted by a series of lawsuits against the Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology, including one filed in 2019 by the Mississippi Justice Institute (MJI) and eyebrow threader Dipa Bhattarai, a letter that was sent by MJI and eyelash technician Amy Burks threatening litigation in 2020, and a lawsuit filed by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and makeup artist Karrece Stewart in 2020.
“Our clients took legal action to defend one of their most important constitutional rights, the right to earn an honest living in our state without being subjected to pointless and burdensome government regulation,” said Aaron Rice, director of MJI. “Threaders, lash technicians, and makeup artists do not need full-blown esthetician training. They provide safe and simple services. Now these niche beauty providers won’t have to pay thousands of dollars to attend hundreds of hours of classes which are unrelated to their practice.”
Eyebrow Threading
Threading is a very safe and simple technique that allows threading artists to use nothing but twisted cotton thread, acting like a mini-lasso, to remove stray hair, most commonly around the eyebrows. Threading originated in South Asian countries centuries ago, but is growing in popularity in the U.S. because it is an elegant, simple and relatively painless form of hair removal.
In 2013, Mississippi law was amended to require threaders to obtain an esthetician license. But before taking the licensing exam, which does not test the applicant’s knowledge of threading, a would-be threader would have to take 600 hours of classroom instruction at a cost of up to $12,000. And worse, not a single hour of that instruction teaches threading.
Dipa Bhattarai is an international student who has been threading for most of her life. She saw an opportunity to use her skills to pursue the American Dream, and opened a threading studio with locations in Columbus and Starkville and hired four employees. But the cosmetology board shut her down because she did not have an esthetician license.
“I am so grateful that I can get back in business without having to get a completely unnecessary license,” said Bhattarai. “I can focus on my business and my education now without worrying that the government will shut me down.”
Eyelash Extensions
Eyelash extensions are available for purchase in self-adhesive strips at most retail outlets. However, in recent years many customers have started paying lash technicians to apply individual false eyelashes, which results in a more natural look. This is a time-consuming and tedious process, but it is safe and easy to learn.
Mississippi law does not specifically require lash technicians to obtain an esthetician’s license. However, in 2019, the cosmetology board determined that applying eyelash extensions fell within its jurisdiction because it involved beautifying the face. That determination meant that lash technicians would also have to obtain esthetician licenses, despite the fact that the required classroom instruction also did not teach or test on eyelash extension application.
Amy Burks opened an eyelash extension lounge in Madison in 2013 and hired four employees. In 2019, the cosmetology board issued her a citation for operating an unlicensed salon, and said her and all of her employees would have to quit work and attend training.
“I am so thrilled to see this law passed,” said Burks. “My team and I have poured everything we have into this business for the past eight years. To think that it was all going to be taken away was so heartbreaking.”
Makeup Artists
Applying makeup also requires an esthetician license, despite the fact that hundreds of millions of people apply makeup every day without formal training and the fact that makeup instruction is only a very small component of the required classwork, which is mostly focused on skincare and hair removal.
Karrece Stewart started a makeup business in Fulton. She teaches makeup techniques and wants to be able to apply makeup for clients as well. But that would require a license.
“I started my own makeup business, Get Glam Beauty, to pursue my dreams and help give women the confidence they need to see themselves in a different way,” said Stewart. “Mississippi’s unconstitutional licensing requirements for cosmetologists were an obstacle to achieving that dream, but with this change, I will now be able to grow my business, better provide for my family, and use my skills to enhance women’s beauty.”
House Bill 1312
The new law, House Bill 1312, was negotiated by MJI attorneys and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, before being passed by the Mississippi legislature and signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves on Friday, April 9, 2021. The new law took effect immediately.
The new law prohibits the Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology from requiring any type of cosmetology license for persons whose practice is limited to threading, applying eyelash extensions, or makeup artistry. It also prevents the board from imposing fines, civil or criminal penalties on unlicensed threaders, lash technicians, or makeup artists, or regulating the practice of those services.
Everett White, an attorney with the law firm Sones & White, PLLC, served as an MJI volunteer attorney for Ms. Bhattarai.
Andy Taggart, a founding partner of the Taggart, Rimes & Graham law firm, served as an MJI volunteer attorney for Ms. Burks.
MJI Director Aaron Rice is available for interview requests. Please reach out to Hunter Estes via [email protected] to schedule.
The Mississippi Justice Institute is a nonprofit, constitutional litigation center and the legal arm of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
“People overestimate what they can accomplish in one legislative session and underestimate what they can accomplish in ten.”
In this series, we are conducting a review of what Mississippi lawmakers have accomplished over the last 10 years. The list provided here is not comprehensive, and we feature only the policies we like: some of which were initiated by MCPP (marked by an *asterisk* below), some of which are good ideas we are happy someone else took the lead on.
In the first part of this series, we reviewed education accomplishments. In this part, we are looking at healthcare. After all, education and healthcare are essentially the two biggest priorities in the state budget. K-12 education is the single largest item in the state budget while healthcare (especially Medicaid) is the single largest item in the total state budget (federal and state revenue).
Healthcare policy in Mississippi over the past 10 years has been shaped largely by Obamacare. Mississippi’s response has mostly been limited to managing the damage.
In 2013, Mississippi became the only state to have its application to set up a state-based insurance exchange rejected by the Obama administration. This rejection, from our perspective, was a huge victory because it forced the administration to set up a federal health insurance exchange. The plan was to delay implementation of Obamacare until Republicans could repeal it … except the repeal never happened.*
At the same time, Mississippi is one of 12 states that has declined to expand Medicaid to able-bodied, working-age adults. This mandate was an original feature of Obamacare until the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down as an unconstitutional overreach by the federal government.* It was bad policy then, it remains bad policy now.
One of the high points of healthcare policy in Mississippi over the past few years has been the steady advance of Right to Try. This law waives federal regulations that often hinder the ability of patients with a terminal illness to take advantage of new medications and technologies. We initiated the first Right to Try law in Mississippi in 2015 (SB 2485). Thanks to the leadership of Senator Josh Harkins, the law was expanded in 2016 (SB 2527) and 2020 (SB 2830), making our Right to Try policies among the best in the country.*
Another high point are protections for direct primary care (SB 2687), passed in 2015. This law helped launch the direct care/concierge care movement in Mississippi. The law clarifies that patients can pay cash to see a doctor, instead of using an insurance plan.*
Mississippi also has one of the better telemedicine systems in place. Telemedicine has made a slow, steady advance in Mississippi over the last 10 years. A bill that would have expanded telemedicine further died in conference in 2021, but it’s likely telemedicine will continue to grow in Mississippi.*
Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP) has announced today that Lesley Davis has requested to step down as its Executive Vice President. After successfully serving as its Interim CEO and then as its EVP after leading the search for the current CEO, she will continue to serve the organization in a policy making role as a member of its Board of Directors.
Announcing the decision, Chairman of the Board, James Herring said “We are incredibly grateful to Lesley for all that she has done to support MCPP; this organization owes her an enormous debt of gratitude. Lesley joined our Board of Directors in February 2019, and took over as Interim CEO in July 2020, leading our Board through an extensive search to find our new President & CEO. Since our new President & CEO arrived in January, Lesley has been of tremendous support in her role as Executive Vice-President and as a member of MCPP’s Board of Directors. We thank Lesley for going above and beyond the call of duty for the past nine months. Her work ethic, skills, knowledge, and passion have helped move this organization forward in our mission of advancing liberty-minded ideals. Having successfully helped steer our organization through this transition, I am delighted that Lesley has decided to remain on the organization’s Board of Directors.”
Douglas Carswell, the newly appointed President & CEO, said “I am tremendously grateful personally for all that Lesley has done to help me transition smoothly into the role of Chief Executive Officer. She has been an incredible EVP to me, and I am sad to see her go. I look forward to continuing to work with her in her role as MCPP Board member.”
“The Mississippi Center for Public Policy exists to advance the cause of liberty and make the moral case for free markets. Lesley has been, and will continue to be, a great advocate for the conservative cause,” Herring said.
“People overestimate what they can accomplish in one legislative session and underestimate what they can accomplish in ten.”
As the 2021 legislative session comes to a close, we’re conducting a review of all that Mississippi lawmakers have accomplished over the last 10 years. All in all, it’s been a very productive period.
In this series we will be providing highlights of policy reforms passed in a range of different areas: Education, Healthcare, Right to Life, Civil Liberty Protections (“God and Guns”), Welfare/Foster Care, Regulatory Reform and Budgeting/Taxes. This list is not comprehensive, and we feature only the laws we like, many of which were initiated by MCPP (marked by an *asterisk* below).
These are the highpoints in education policy over the past 10 years:
Mississippi passed its first charter school law (HB 369) in 2013. The law was updated and improved in 2015 (HB 859) and, again, in 2016 (SB 2161). Mississippi now has six charter schools.*
Also in 2013, the state enacted the third-grade reading gate program, sponsored by Senator Angela Hill (SB 2347). This law prioritizes teaching kids how to read by third grade. We were the 14th state to pass it. Since this law was enacted, Mississippi’s fourth-grade reading scores (on the NAEP) have dramatically improved.*
In 2013, the state also reformed the way it evaluates districts and schools, replacing an inflated system in which a “C” school was labelled “Successful” with the easy-to-understand format of A-B-C-D-F. We were the 14th state in the country to enact this policy (SB 2396).*
Two years later, in 2015, the Legislature passed the Equal Opportunity for Students with Special Needs Act (SB 2695), sponsored by Senator Nancy Collins and championed by Rep. Carolyn Crawford. This law creates a scholarship program that allows children with special needs to attend a private school if that school can better meet their needs. Mississippi was the third state in the nation to enact this kind of program.*
In 2020, Mississippi became the second state in the country to pass an innovative apprenticeship/internship program called Learn to Earn, sponsored by Rep. Kent McCarty (HB 1336). Learn to Earn enables kids in public school to obtain access to high-quality educational opportunities with businesses and nonprofits. *
Also worth mentioning is that lawmakers gave teachers a pay raise in: 2021 ($1,000); 2019 ($1,500); and 2014 ($1,500).
Douglas Carswell, President of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, joined Ben Shapiro on The Ben Shapiro Show for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of America and what can be done to improve our nation.
The Ben Shapiro Show is syndicated to networks around the country. Ben Shapiro has emerged as a leading conservative voice in today’s age. His site, The Daily Wire, is one of the most popular conservative news outlets in the nation and is regularly read by millions of people.
The full video conversation can be watched here.
Ben and Douglas discussed a plethora of issues including American culture, national spending, the global economy, and more.
Here are some of my personal favorite quotes from the conversation:
Ben Shapiro: “Welcome to our shores. I’ve got to say, it feels like you’re arriving at a rather inauspicious time in American history. While the economy seems to be finally recovering as COVID lets up, that is not stopping the current government from blowing out spending to an unprecedented extent and radically shifting the thinking of how government and the individual ought to interact.”
Douglas Carswell: “The United States has been the world’s number one power for 120 years and it’s been, by and large, an extraordinary 120 years, the best in human existence.”
Douglas: “If America becomes just another country, the lights would go out not just in America, the lights would go out on the world.”
Ben: “Europe had the privilege of having the United States basically hold up the world economy and much of their defense budget for half a century. Nobody’s going to be holding up the foundations here if the United States goes.”
Douglas: “The essence of modernity, the essence of civilization, is that we judge people not on the basis of immutable characteristics.”
Douglas: “If America was built on hatred and racism then why is it that people from every color, and every creed, and every culture want to come here?”
Resolutions have been filed in the Mississippi House and Senate opposing the controversial concept of “Critical Race Theory.”
House Concurrent Resolution 62 and House Concurrent Resolution 87 both make clear their opposition to critical race theory. These resolutions were introduced by Representatives Chris Brown, Dan Eubanks, and Dana Criswell. Senate Resolution 56 deals with the same issue and was introduced by Senator Angela Hill.
Critical Race Theory has its roots in academia. It has been festering in the halls of our colleges and universities for decades but has only recently taken on a new energy as its students have entered public life in institutions across the nation.
Its core teaching is that people are separated into classifications of “oppressed” and “oppressor.” It categorizes America as a fundamentally racist country whose every institution is designed to maintain white supremacy, and thus it concludes that those institutions must be overthrown.
The Theory erases the notions of personal responsibility and individual liberty. It crushes the agency and dignity that is unique to each person and ascribes the results of one’s life to the color of his or her skin.
The Heritage Foundation created a brief overview of the Theory and its implications here.
The House and Senate resolutions cite the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the 14th Amendment before lambasting the foundational teachings of critical race theory.
The resolutions state that, “critical race theory and related ideologies propagate divisive and untrue concepts that teach one race or sex is inherently superior to another and that individuals of one race or sex should be deprived of basic rights simply because of their race or sex.”
They further note that, “it is contrary to the laws of God and nature that an individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex and that individuals should thus be discriminated against in the classroom, the workplace or any public forum or place.”
The resolutions will now have the chance to be considered by the Mississippi House and Senate over the coming days.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about Medicaid, and I’m concerned. I believe Medicaid is suffering from an identity crisis. Medicaid doesn’t know what it wants to be, and it doesn’t know its purpose in life. Some people want Medicaid to expand. I just want it to work.”
… Such are the musings of a healthcare policy wonk in Mississippi.
I have been discussing Medicaid, and healthcare generally, for many years now. I am no longer surprised when people do not know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. I am surprised, however, when proponents of Medicaid expansion do not seem to understand what Medicaid actually is. For instance, that the Mississippi Division of Medicaid is not a healthcare provider, but a healthcare purchaser and that this distinction has significant consequences.
Medicare is a (mostly) single-payer, national insurance program fully funded by the federal government. By contrast, Medicaid is a joint federal-state program, with lots and lots of federal strings attached.
Medicare is a government-subsidized insurance plan for the elderly. Medicaid is a government-subsidized insurance plan initially created to help the blind, disabled, pregnant women, and children.
Now that we have that straight, what, exactly, is Medicaid?
Medicaid is an insurance program. But Medicaid is also a welfare program. This is the root of the problem for Medicaid. This is why costs keep going up, and this is one reason fraud is such a problem.
Medicaid is the largest single insurance plan in the United States, with approximately 75 million recipients. By contrast, Medicare has 44 million enrollees. This means that the federal agency (CMS) that pays for Medicaid/Medicare is the largest single-payer for healthcare in the United States. In short, if Medicaid were an insurance company it would be huge.
As an insurer, Medicaid does not operate like other insurers. To begin with, this is because health insurance in the United States does not work the way other kinds of insurance do. Consider how your auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance works. Auto insurance does not generally cover a flat tire. Homeowner’s insurance does not cover routine repairs and renovations.
Health insurance, however, covers a much wider array of services than do other types of insurance. It covers preventative care (comparable to controlling for termites or adding gutters, if we are comparing the body to a house). It covers emergency care (comparable to a fire or a flood, which is what typical homeowner’s insurance covers). It covers non-emergency, routine care (comparable to fixing the foundation or installing storm windows).
One reason health insurance is so expensive – though many people do not realize it because the cost is often automatically deducted from their paycheck – is because it covers so much.
Because it covers so much, Medicaid is just plain expensive, all the more so because healthcare prices keep rising. And when I say expensive, I do not mean to the recipients, I mean the overall price tag for the federal government and the states – that is, taxpayers and future debt holders. (This is not even to mention the cost-shifting that leads to increased prices for private insurance customers.)
Another reason Medicaid is expensive is because it is not just an insurance program, it is a welfare program. Indeed, unlike TANF (cash welfare) and other welfare programs, Medicaid is an open-ended entitlement. This means anyone eligible for Medicaid has a legal right to enroll. Federally mandated coverage groups include children, very low-income parents, pregnant women, and aged, blind, and disabled individuals receiving SSI (Supplemental Security Income).
States may cover optional services and populations, and many do in order to drawdown even more federal funds. At the same time, states are prohibited from implementing enrollment caps or individual spending caps. The only real limit on Medicaid spending is demonstrated need. Consequently, as healthcare economist Robert Graboyes puts it, Medicaid is “a market perpetually in a state of excess demand.”
To translate, this means that Medicaid spending is very hard for states to control. Advocates of Medicaid expansion claim it is a great deal because the federal government is paying 90 percent of the cost. This sounds a lot like renting a $10 million mansion at a 90 percent discount. The mansion may be 90 percent off, but you still need to come up with a million dollars in rent every year. Except in the case of Medicaid, that $1 million payment this year could turn into $2 million next year and $3 million after that. And there is really nothing you can do about it.
In order for Medicaid to work better, two things have to happen. First, Medicaid needs to begin operating like other welfare programs. This means enrollment is going to have to be limited. (Which also means expanding Medicaid to able-bodied, working-age adults is a very bad idea if your goal is to provide healthcare to those who really need it.)
Apart from limiting enrollment, which states cannot do right now, the most obvious way to control Medicaid costs is to cut payments to providers. This approach has a significant downside because it will encourage more healthcare professionals to stop taking Medicaid altogether.
The second thing that needs to happen is to begin treating Medicaid insurance as we do other kinds of insurance. This would mean transforming Medicaid into a catastrophic coverage type plan that only pays for major health events and then pairing that coverage with a publicly funded large Healthcare Savings Account (HSA). Such an account would give Medicaid recipients an incentive to control costs for themselves and to invest more in their long-term doctor-patient relationships.
I am not holding my breath for these two reforms to occur anytime soon. The Biden Administration is intent on “increasing access” to healthcare by increasing enrollment in Medicaid, regardless of whether this actually increases access or improves healthcare outcomes. That said, it is important to acknowledge that Medicaid is not like other kinds of insurance or, even, other kinds of welfare. And these are two reasons, among many, that make expanding Medicaid bad policy for Mississippi.
***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
Contact: Hunter Estes, [email protected]
Governor Tate Reeves has just signed HB1263 which makes it easier for people to move to Mississippi to work. The statute removes a bureaucratic barrier that keeps skilled newcomers from being able to earn a living.
Authored by Representative Becky Currie, this new law allows people who already have a license in another state to more easily get one when they settle in the Magnolia state. We interviewed Rep. Currie about the importance of the legislation here.
The legislation was passed almost unanimously out of both the House and the Senate.
This new law is part of a wider move to make Mississippi more business friendly and open to entrepreneurs.
“We are incredibly thankful to Representative Becky Currie, Senator Angela Hill, Senator Kevin Blackwell, Senator John Polk, Governor Tate Reeves, Speaker Philip Gunn, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann for their work on this legislation,” noted Douglas Carswell, President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, which has been driving the calls for reform.
“We spend millions of dollars trying to recruit companies to come here, but this law is a simple, effective way to create more jobs right here in Mississippi. For too long, people have been moving out of state to work. This helps reverse that by making it easier for folks to come here and continue the pursuit of the American dream.”
MCPP's Dr. Jameson Taylor noted, “this has been a two-year effort. In 2020, we worked with the Department of Defense to enact the nation’s best law to make it easier for military spouses and dependents to move to Mississippi and start working right away. This year we expanded the law to extend these same benefits to skilled workers moving to Mississippi.”
Data recently released by the Legatum Institute’s Prosperity Index shows that Mississippi is the 41st most costly state in the Union in terms of acquiring an occupational license.
“It is especially important that this law was passed and signed, and that high barriers to work opportunities don’t hold back folks that want to come here to work,” Carswell explained.
Already, Arizona, Montana, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Utah, Iowa and Idaho have passed this reform, which is also being introduced in multiple state legislatures this year.
MCPP President’s Douglas Carswell is available for media interviews. Please email [email protected] for requests.
***ENDS***
Who was America’s greatest President ever? Was it George Washington, who beat the British and helped establish the Republic? How about Abe Lincoln, who saved the Republic and extended Constitutional freedoms to every American?
My personal favorite President is Ronald Reagan. He extended American liberties across the globe when he won the Cold War.
The truth is that America has been blessed by good leadership for much of her existence, and there are plenty of other good Presidents to choose from. But things have not always been that way.
Who would you rank as the worst ever American President?
For me, Lyndon B Johnson has to be a strong contender for that title. Reading Robert Caro’s magisterial biographic series about LBJ reveals some unflattering truths about the 36th President. LBJ comes across as both ruthless and venal.
Yet it is not so much LBJ’s character that condemns him as the consequences of his time in office. LBJ attempted to lay the foundations for what he called ‘the Great Society’. What he sowed instead were the seeds of social decay, which Mississippi and other states have been struggling with ever since.
Under Lyndon Johnson, the size and role of the state increased dramatically, with social spending programs introduced across much of America for the first time. As government grew, welfare dependency emerged and created a system of supplicant Americans, beholden on politicians for handouts.
Far from elevating the conditions of Americans, the expansion of welfare under LBJ has reduced many to a position of dependency.
What ought to alarm us today is that the system of dependency has just been expanded dramatically over the past year, especially here in Mississippi.
When Covid first struck, many of the limitations that there had been on the receipt of welfare were suspended. The amount paid out has been increased significantly, too. These changes were presented at the time as temporary measures designed to help those that had lost their job.
What is becoming increasingly clear is that unlimited access to welfare support has all kinds of harmful consequences – both on society and those receiving welfare checks.
Talking to a local business owner in Jackson the other day, I was surprised to learn that they are struggling to cope with customer demand. With the Covid situation improved, business, they said, was getting back to normal.
The trouble, they said, was that they found it hard to get folks to come back to work. Employees who had left when the Covid crisis first hit were unwilling to return since they would be worse off working than retaining public benefits.
LBJ’s legacy pervades our system of education, too. Changes that were supposed to ensure every American had the same opportunities in life have ended up embedding low expectations. There are too many districts in our state that have had F-ratings one year after another. This is because, to be blunt about it, too many schools are run in the interests of those on the payroll, rather than in the interests of young people needing a head start in life.
What can we do about it? We need to undo the legacy of LBJ. That means reforming the welfare system and the education system to ensure that there is accountability for outcomes.
We need to ensure that the rules on who receives welfare, and under what circumstances, are returned to the state level. Mississippi needs a set of rules to ensure that those that get welfare do so because they have fallen on genuinely hard circumstances, not as a lifestyle choice.
In education, we need to stop funding institutions, and ensure that we fund individual students instead. Teachers should be rewarded for their successes and improved performance.
There is nothing inevitable about some of the long term social and economic problems that have festered since the 1960s. Looking around the world, the free market has managed to elevate the condition of people of every culture, color, country, and continent. We need more free market reform here in Mississippi too.