(a) No person shall open, operate, or maintain a private employment agency in the State of Alabama without first procuring a license from the Commissioner of the State Department of Revenue of Alabama. Any person who shall open or conduct any such agency without first procuring a license shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.
(b) Every applicant for a license shall have been a resident of the state of Alabama for at least two years immediately preceding the filing of such application and shall have had at least two years’ experience as a placement counsellor. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply, however, to persons or corporations now licensed in Alabama.