TOPEKA (AP) – Gov. Sam Brownback says he wants to send a clear message that Kansas won’t accept unnecessary government burdens on the free market.

And so, on Friday, he vetoed a bill that could have required more ex-barbers and barber school instructors to take exams before re-entering their professions.

The state Board of Barbering pushed for the change as a public safety measure. It would have required a former barber or instructor to take a licensing exam again if they’d been out of the business for two years. Current law allows a three-year gap.

Brownback, a conservative Republican, decried the bill as an example of growth in government power over economic activity. He said government’s role must be limited for the state’s economy to flourish.