Barbers, morticians, exterminators and other licensed professionals who relocate to Arizona won't have to get re-licensed here after a move by Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday.

Ducey signed a bill reducing licensing requirements for many jobs in Arizona and plans to sign another soon that reduces licensing for hair stylists.

Ducey said that too often, government regulations prevent people from taking jobs, and reducing occupational licensing has been a major focus of his administration.

He said Arizona is the first state in the nation to pass such a bill, which will allow people who hold an occupational license in another state to be granted the same license in Arizona.

The change will affect myriad occupations from contractors, home inspectors, massage therapists, exterminators, morticians, child-care workers and many others.

"Plumbers, barbers, nurses, you don't lose your skills simply because you pack up a U-Haul truck and move to Arizona," Ducey said.

About 470,000 Arizonans require a license to practice their particular profession, according to the Institute for Justice, an "economic liberty" advocacy group that supported the bill.

“House Bill 2569 is a common-sense reform that will help expand economic opportunity by making it easier for people to move to Arizona to further their careers,” said Paul Avelar, managing attorney of the Institute for Justice Arizona office.

Before he signed the bill, Ducey rode in a U-Haul moving truck as it pulled in front of the Executive Tower. The moving truck was a symbol that people are welcome to move to Arizona where they will not be barred from a job.

U-Haul is owned by Amerco and headquartered in Phoenix.

"Arizona's economy is booming and the people coming out here are just looking for an opportunity to carve their own path," Ducey said.

"We did it together," Ducey said of the bill, which drew only two Democratic votes in the Senate and five in the House, with no Republicans opposed in either chamber.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert.

“I’m grateful to Gov. Ducey and my colleagues in the Legislature for making Arizona the first state in the country to offer universal occupational licensing recognition,” Petersen said.

Blow-dry bill heading to Ducey

Ducey will have a similar opportunity to sign a bill that reduces licensing requirements for people who wash and style hair but don't cut it. Such services are increasingly popular at "blow-dry" bars.

Ducey made the elimination of licenses for such stylists a key point in his 2018 State of the State speech, but the bill didn't get through the Legislature last year.

Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, R-Scottsdale, reintroduced a nearly identical proposal this year as Senate Bill 1401. It was given final approval by lawmakers Tuesday and awaiting Ducey's signature.

"This is about getting people back to work," Ugenti-Rita said when the bill was introduced earlier this year in a committee hearing.

Many of the approximately 100,000 licensed beauty industry workers in the state opposed the bills last year and this session, saying they are trained to prevent infections and how to safely perform various services.

Ducey was asked about safety issues Wednesday and balked at the concerns.

"We are talking about something available in every hotel, and in every home," he said of hair dryers. "You don't have to have a license to operate it."

Some solace from industry

The so-called blow-dry bill that passed the Legislature did include a requirement for people who perform styling-only services to get some training in sanitation from the state Cosmetology Board.

That provision offers some solace, said Cathy Koluch, president of The Studio Academy of Beauty, which has three beauty schools in the Phoenix area.

"OK, it's a step in the right direction," Koluch said. However, she said it is yet to be determined what the Cosmetology Board will offer.

"The state Cosmetology Board has no appropriations for this," she said. "I'm sure Ducey will magically find money to fund this class."

Another provision will require people performing styling services without a license to post a conspicuous sign in the business notifying the public they are not regulated.

Koluch said salons are going to want to continue hiring licensed workers.

"I don't think Drybar and Primp and Blow want a sign in their salon that says they hire unlicensed people," Koluch said. "I really feel like salons are not going to take that risk and liability."

Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter @UtilityReporter.

Subscribe to azcentral.com today.