Ohio lawmakers are closing in on passage of a bill that would impact anyone who goes to get a haircut or other salon services.

The measure would lower the number of training hours required for state barber and cosmetology licenses. Training for a barber's license would be reduced from 1,800 to 1,000 hours. The hours required to obtain a cosmetology license would go from 1,500 hours to 1,000 hours.

Proponents of the change say it is needed to help meet a shortfall in licensed workers. But opponents say the reduction in training would turn students out into the workforce with too little experience. Opponents blame big-chain salons for pushing for the reduction in training hours.

The current legislative term ends this month. Any bills not passed and signed by that deadline must be reintroduced and start over in the news session that begins in January.

Later in the program, it's time now for another installment of our "Get to NEO a Leader" series , where we talk to mayors and city managers, in communities large and small, about the places they lead. We started the series shortly after Ideastream Public Media expanded its news coverage to 22 counties back in March. Our station now reaches an area covering about three million people - stretching across Northeast Ohio -- from Ashtabula and Trumbull in the east to Erie and Huron in the west, from urban counties that touch Lake Erie like Lorain, Lake, and Cuyahoga, to more rural southern counties like Holmes, Stark and Tuscarawas. That means there are a lot of communities many of us know very little about. We're hoping this series helps connect and inform all of us - living across the region. This year we've spoken to leaders in Summit, Cuyahoga, Lorain, Portage and Geauga counties. Next up, we venture to eastern part of our listening area, and learn about Tito Brown, mayor of Youngstown.

Guests:

Kathleen Stanley AGAPE ORGANIC SALON
Waverly Willis, Chairman of the Ohio Barber and Beauty Alliance
Tito Brown, Mayor of Youngstown