Registered Interior Designer Practice Act
H. 3945 - Summary
When people hear the term “Interior Designer,” they often think of someone who has a real knack for picking out paint and wallpaper, designing window treatments or displaying art in a particularly appealing manner. And while those are likely to be talents that decorators and Interior Designers both possess, what really sets professional Interior Designers apart is the education, experience and the national examination that qualify them to do much, much more than just make a space appealing to the eye.
When American families send their kids to school, go to work in an office building, help their elderly parents retire to a retirement community, vacation at a hotel, check into a hospital or spend time in a shopping mall, they are directly affected by the decisions of designers. Whether it is the fire retardant carpeting and upholstery fabric in a library or nursing home, slip resistant flooring in a restaurant, bacteria-resistant surfaces in a doctors office or proper lighting in an office environment, the health, safety and welfare of nearly every member of the American public is protected by Interior Designers every day. Contrary to what many might think, a color wheel is often the last thing an Interior Designer pulls from his or her “tool box” – the first are much more likely to be building codes, safety standards, a determination of proper ingress and egress allocation, and an assessment of lighting needs or handicap accessibility standards, among other things.
Because of the real and unavoidable implications interior design has on the public every single day, 24 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have already adopted legislation setting interior design professionals apart as a licensed or registered profession, qualified by education, real life experience and successful examination and regulated by a Board of Examiners. The South Carolina General Assembly has an opportunity to do the same – and they should.
The Registered Interior Designer Practice Act, sponsored by Representative Joan Brady, provides for qualified Interior Designers to register with the state, providing a means through which the public can clearly differentiate between someone with a good eye for color or a knack for style and someone with the requisite training and experience necessary to successfully seek licensure as a Registered Interior Designer. Specifically, the bill:
Provides for the creation of a Registered Interior Designers Panel to regulate the practice of Interior Design in South Carolina and sets for the powers and duties thereof
Defines the practice of Interior Design and the term “Registered Interior Designer”
Requires that a person who provides certain interior design services or calls himself a “Registered Interior Designer” must be registered with the Panel by a certain date
Establishes Qualifications for a designer to become a Registered Interior Designer, including minimal education standards, a required amount of qualified experience and successful completion of the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination - a rigorous and thorough standard used by all States and jurisdictions thus far.
Provides a “Grandfather” Clause for people who can demonstrate a history of diversified experience and knowledge of building code standards
Sets forth minimum requirements for continuing education units and the qualification and reporting thereof
Establishes a framework for the establishment of reciprocity for similarly qualified and registered Interior Designers from other states
Provides that each Registered Interior Designer shall be issued a seal and a registration number and sets forth the purposes for which it may be used.
Specifies that this bill does not apply to licensed architects or engineers, those providing decorating services, those providing consultation as to furnishings and decorations during a retail sale or design services as part of a retail sale, so long as the employee does not refer to himself as a registered interior designer.
Specifically does not prohibit home builders or general contractors from performing the preparation of documents necessary to their work, nor does it prohibit the practice of any other legally recognized profession.
Further, the bill specifies that it does not apply to non-public spaces, specifically single-family or two-family dwellings, farm buildings, buildings less than three stories or five thousand square feet of floor area except for those used for specific public purposes, and alterations to buildings to which this chapter does not apply under many circumstances.
Particularly with the growing popularity of cable television home improvement programming while building codes and safety standards are becoming increasingly complex, it is important to set a standard of education and qualification for registered interior design professionals. Without placing an undue burden on those who currently provide design services or other recognized and licensed professionals, the establishment of this panel and the registration of qualified Interior Design professionals provides South Carolinians the protection they deserve in public spaces and sets forth a clear delineation of education and other qualifications that will benefit consumers as they consider design decisions about their own homes.
