Bill to regulate interior designers
OLYMPIA – Thinking of hiring an interior designer to work on that new addition to your home? If so, you might want to wait a couple of months to see if the Washington Legislature gets involved.
Members of the Senate Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee considered a proposal Tuesday that would regulate interior designers. The measure, SB 5754, would restrict the title of “registered interior designer” to just that, designers who are officially registered by the state of Washington.
The sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, said it would give consumers assurance that the designer they choose meets professional criteria.
“Right now anybody can claim to be an interior designer. There’s no licensing, no registration, nothing,” said Keiser. “We’re talking about a lot of high-end costs, and this is the kind of thing consumers need to be protected on.”
The proposal is dubbed “The Registered Interior Designer Professionals Act of 2005.” It sets up a system of registering interior designers through the Department of Licensing. It requires anyone who wants to use the title “registered interior designer” to pay an application fee of $135 and provide evidence of four years of work experience and two years of formal education in the field. To remain registered, designers must renew their licenses periodically, as determined by the DOL, and complete 10 hours of education course work every two years.
In addition to providing proof of education and experience in the field, designers must also prove they have met the qualifications of the National Council for Interior Design Qualifications. The trade group is an organization that accredits interior designers and monitors and documents interior design experience.
Last year a similar bill was proposed but died in committee. There are currently 19 states that have similar interior designer laws in place. The new proposal still has a long way to go. Neither the Senate bill, nor its House companion, HB 1878, have cleared a single committee yet.
“I am in strong support of this legislation as a consumer advocate,” Duane Jonlin told the committee.
While Jonlin, an architect from Seattle, was supportive of the legislation, Stan Bowman, a representative from the American Institute of Architects, was not. Bowman said his organization opposed the legislation because the accreditation process of the group cited in the legislation does not cover several public safety issues architects deal with.
“The public safety question needs to be investigated in-depth,” said Jonlin. “It’s a dramatic step for the state to intervene in the marketplace and promote some individuals over others.”
Along with hearing how the bill would prevent consumers from being misled, committee members also heard testimony from designers addressing stereotypes about their profession. These stereotypes stem from popular design television shows such as “Trading Spaces” and “While You Were Out.”
“People often think that all it takes is a weekend and $1,000 with a couple of camera crews rolling to do design work on a home. That’s simply not the case,” said Christina Stewart, an interior design student at Bellevue Community College. “Designers deal with more than that. We deal with building codes and other public safety issues.”