Section 45-37-40.04 - License - Application; hearings; appeals; fees(a) Every applicant for a barbers license, apprentice barbers license, barber teacher license, scalp specialist license, or a license to operate a barber shop or barbers college, or other like business, shall apply therefor in writing on blanks prepared or furnished by the barbers commission. It shall be accompanied by the recommendation of at least two barbers doing business in the county, not related to the applicant, certifying that the applicant is of good reputation, is qualified to practice the profession of barbering, and recommending that a license be granted. The application shall be accompanied by the application fee hereinafter provided, and a certificate of a reputable doctor certifying that the applicant has no communicable, contagious, or infectious disease. Should the application not be approved, one-half the fee filed therewith shall be refunded to the applicant and one-half thereof shall be retained by the commission for the expense of conducting the investigation and examination.(b) The commission, after an application in proper form has been filed, shall before refusing to issue a license set the application down for a hearing and determination as hereinafter provided. The commission shall issue a license in the form as it may prescribe, which shall show the name and address of the licensee and the barbers shop or college in which he or she is employed. The seal of the commission shall be imprinted and such additional matter placed thereon as the commission may designate. It shall be the duty of each person, copartnership, association, or corporation to conspicuously display his or her license in his or her place of business. The commission shall issue to each licensee a pocket card, on which shall be an imprint of the seal of the commission certifying that the person whose name appears thereon is a licensed barber or operator of one of the businesses named as the case may be. The original fee for each barbers license, apprentice barber license, barber teacher license, and scalp specialist license shall be thirty-five dollars ($35), and the annual renewal fee shall be forty dollars ($40). The original fee for each person to operate a barber shop, or other like business, in addition to the fee hereinbefore provided, shall pay fifty dollars ($50), and the annual renewal fee of two dollars ($2) per chair. The original fee for each person to operate a barber college, in addition to the fee hereinbefore provided, shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250), which fee shall be due and payable annually. Every license shall expire on the 31st day of December each year. The licenses for the ensuing year shall be due and payable January 1st of each year and delinquent on the first day of February of each year. There shall be no exemptions from the payment of these licenses by any barber, scalp specialist, barber apprentice, barber teacher, barber school, barber shop operator, partnership, association, or corporation; or school board or public institution where a fee is charged for barbering. A student work permit may be issued to a student who is in attendance at a barber college for a fee of ten dollars ($10) each year, provided the student has at least 850 hours of credit in barber college.(c) Any barber, barber shop, barber college, or other like business within the meaning of this part and any person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation who fails to pay the licenses herein prescribed within the time required by this section, in addition to the license required, shall pay a penalty of 20 percent of the amount of the license due and in addition to the licenses and penalty shall pay interest at the rate of one-half of one percent per month or fraction thereof from the date at which the license became due and payable. The commission shall issue a renewal license for the ensuing year in the absence of any reason or condition that might warrant the refusal of granting of the license upon the receipt of the written request of the applicant, accompanied by the annual fee therefor, as herein required, and accompanied also by a certificate of a reputable physician asserting that the applicant then has no contagious, communicable, or infectious disease.(d) The commission may upon its own motion, and shall upon the verified complaint in writing of any three persons making out a prima facie case, investigate the actions of any persons hereby affected, and shall have the power to suspend or to revoke any license issued under this part at any time where the licensee has fraudulently obtained a license, or where the licensee in performing or attempting to perform any of the acts mentioned herein is found by the commission to be guilty of (1) the violation of any state, county, or city statute or ordinance pertaining to the operation of the business hereby affected, (2) the violation of any rule or regulation established by the commission, or (3) who has failed upon the request of the inspector to give evidence or proof, or both, of the compliance with the same. The commission, before denying an application for a license, or before suspending or revoking any license, shall set the matter down for a hearing, and at least 20 days prior to the date set for the hearing, notify the applicant or licensee in writing, which notice shall contain an exact statement of the charges made and the date and the place of the hearing. The applicant or licensee at all hearings shall have the opportunity to be heard in person and by counsel. The notice may be served by delivery of the same personally to the applicant or licensee, or by registered mail to the last known business address of the applicant or licensee. In preparation and conduct of hearings, the commission shall have the power to require by subpoena the appearance and testimony of witnesses and the production of papers, and any member of the commission may sign subpoenas, administer oaths, and examine witnesses. The fees and mileage shall be the same as prescribed by law in judicial procedure in the circuit courts of this state in civil cases. Any party to a hearing shall have the right to the attendance of witnesses in his or her behalf. In case of disobedience to the subpoena, any member of the commission may invoke the aid of any court of competent jurisdiction in requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of papers and the court may issue an order requiring the persons to appear before the commission and give evidence or produce papers as the case may be, and any failure to obey the order of the court may be punished by the court as a contempt thereof. Any person refusing to appear and give testimony required by the commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.(e) If the commission shall determine that any applicant is not qualified to receive a license, or that any licensee is guilty of a violation of any of this part, a license shall not be granted, or the license shall be suspended or revoked, as the case may require. Upon request of the applicant or licensee in writing, the commission shall furnish the party with a definite statement of its findings of facts and its reason or reasons for refusing to grant the license or for its suspension or revocation of the license. The findings of the commission may be appealed to the circuit court of the county in which the principal office of the commission is located, provided an appeal is taken within 30 days after final determination of the commission. Any person desiring to appeal under this subsection shall file with the commission or some member thereof, a notice in writing that he or she appeals to the circuit court, with at least two solvent sureties payable to the county wherein the case will be tried, conditioned to prosecute such appeal to effect, and upon failure to do so, to pay all costs and damages which may be taxed against him or her by the circuit court on appeal. The bond to be approved by the circuit clerk of the county and any cause so appealed shall be tried de novo in circuit court.(f) The commission, at least every three months, shall hold an examination for the purpose of determining the qualifications of any applicant to become barbers, barber apprentices, shop operators or teachers in barber schools, scalp specialists, and shall conduct the examination in accordance with the provisions hereof, and in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the commission not inconsistent with this part. The examination to be conducted in the city, town, or village, where the principal office of the commission is located.Ala. Code § 45-37-40.04 (1975)
Acts 1951, No. 661, p. 1125, §5; Act 2002-338, p. 906, §1.