Governor targets 'wacky' laws, bills

COLUMBIA — Until Wednesday, Gov. Mark Sanford would not even have qualified for a job washing hair.

With the stroke of his pen, though, the governor, who served three terms in Congress and oversees a state of 4 million heads, did away with a requirement that a person must complete 1,500 hours of instruction to shampoo hair in a salon.

"This is the kind of thing that deserves to be on Comedy Central," Sanford said. "Why in the world do we have laws like this one on the books?"

By comparison, police officers need 396 hours to work a beat but someone can carry a concealed weapon after only eight hours of training.

Sanford highlighted a list of other "wacky" and "sometimes crazy" state laws and legislation, including a proposed bill that would require replay videos for high school football and basketball games and another than bans the sale of musical instruments on Sundays.

In shifting from comedy to philosophy, Sanford said the Legislature needs to be cautious of overregulation and each year should look at the laws that should be repealed.

The bill Rep. Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, introduced to free shampooers from the same level of training cosmetologists receive took more than a year to move through the legislative process.

Two Columbia-area stylists said the legislation will help them create jobs, put students to work while they study at beauty school and shorten the wait for customers.

"It will free up the stylist," said Jenny Trussell, manager at Belk Salon and Spa at Dutch Square in Columbia. "They can deliver the client to their chair, and they can work their magic."

She said a job shampooing at her store would start at $7 an hour.

Sanford's hit list

Gov. Mark Sanford drafted a list of what he calls the state's most ridiculous laws and crazy proposals.

What's on the books:

--Police officers need to train for 396 hours before they can hit the street; concealed weapon-permit holders, 8; South Carolina cosmetologists, though, need 1,500 hours of instruction.

--Fortune-tellers need a special permit to open a shop.

--Barber schools must have at least 10 instructional chairs — and those chairs are required by law to be upholstered and finished in exactly the same way.

--Once a year in October, all public schools should observe "Frances Willard Day" and "prepare and render a suitable program on the day to the end that the children of the state may be taught the evils of intemperance."

--Circuses cannot exceed 48 hours at one place in one year.

--If a menu or advertisement states "frozen dessert," it must correctly state the specific frozen dessert that is offered for sale so as not to mislead the consumer.

--Musical instruments are not allowed to be sold on Sunday.

The "crazy" proposals:

--High school football and basketball playoff games would need to have replay for officials to use under a proposed law.

--The state came close to mandating that all drinking straws be sold in individual wrappers. The bill almost led to a fistfight on the House floor in 2003.