Washblog

There are currently bills before the House and Senate that will soon be voted on that will put many small business owners out of business if they pass.  You can pull them up and read them with the information given below, but in a nutshell they will require anyone that assists in selecting fabrics, finishes, color, furniture layout and space planning, or any other interior design activities in a customer's home to have a four year Interior Design degree, pass many examinations, and be licensed by the state. This is an effort by the ASID to eliminate competition from many successful creative individuals, and a way for the state to make more money from licensing.   It will create a monopoly of sorts, as very few individuals currently working as interior designers and decorators meet the strict criteria.  It will also succeed in making interior design inaccessible to all but the wealthy.

The premise of the law is that selection of these sorts of finishes and products in a customer's home constitutes an issue of public health and safety.  This is incredibly ridiculous.  If it were limiting work on commercial public spaces such as hospitals, theaters, shopping centers, auditoriums, or other such spaces, I myself would support this law.  These sorts of venues should be overseen by engineers and architects and designers trained in the specific requirements for these spaces.  Those of us working in our client's homes helping to make their spaces more functional, more comfortable, and more aesthetically pleasing in no way pose a threat to public safety.  I would be happy if the law stated that proof of insurance or some sort of proficiency test be passed before individuals are allowed to work in clients homes, but that is not what this bill is about.  They are not taking into account any other type of training (such as that provided by a franchise company such as mine) or years of experience (12 in my case) with no complaints.  This law would fine someone and charge them with a misdemeanor if they did so much as helped select a color or fabric in someone else's home without a four year degree and proper licensing.  The other ridiculous element is that if you do the same work in a retail store, you are exempted from this law, and they require no training whatsoever.

There are plenty of laws in place to protect public safety. Interior Design and Architectural firms that do work in public spaces only hire the individuals that have the necessary degrees and experience to do that type of work. There is no need to severely restrict those of us in the interior design industry that are working in residences, are careful to perform our work in a responsible manner and hire licensed, insured contractors as our installers and fabricators. There was a study done, and several prominent Architectural firms wrote in that "there has never been any proof that the interior design industry is a threat to human health or safety". In my experience, those that have the four year degrees can sometimes be more dangerous as most of the ones I've met can't even calculate yardages or measure windows or anything else for themselves. They don't receive any of this training as part of their degree. Who cares how many classes you've taken in the psychology of color or how many codes you've memorized if you don't have the brains to figure out the mechanics of the job or the talent to pull a room together. That is why they are threatened, and that is why they are lobbying so hard for this bill.

Well, I'll get off my soapbox. I am just sending this out to my friends with the hope that you as consumers and members of the general public will read this bill, and call or write your legislators telling them how ridiculous it is, and ask them to oppose these bills. Your rights will be affected as well, as the price to obtain professional assistance with design projects will certainly escalate, and in my opinion, the quality will certainly not increase.

What I really think they should focus on are the products manufactured overseas for sale in this country for use in our homes and businesses. I would guess that many of the items made available for sale to not only ALL interior design professionals, but to the general public as well, could be toxic due to lead poisoning or other toxic chemicals and off-gassing. Interior Designers regardless of degree or experience have no way of knowing these imported products they are purchasing are safe, and neither do consumers.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I sincerely appreciate any effort you might make to fight this legislation. Please feel free to pass this on if you feel so inclined.

[NAME & CONTACT INFO REDACTED!]

The following was forwarded to me, and has the info on contacting legislators at the bottom.

To all who live in Washington State,

I normally would not bring up politics, but I feel that a bill going through the Washington State Legislature right now is one you need to know about. Bill HB- 2895 / SB-6707 would strip away my ability to continue my design business. It would require that all interior designers become "registered" with the state and then presents only one pathway to obtain registration - a pathway with a list of criteria that the majority of professional designers in Washington State do not meet. Currently, only two schools in the state would meet the requirements for accreditation in the bill - leaving my Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters degrees and 8+ years of experience meaningless (including almost 7 years as a business owner). Also, any other certifications - such as those from the National Kitchen and Bath Association -- would not be considered viable.

This bill puts hundreds, if not thousands, of people out of work. It is bad for everyone concerned as well as the economy. In 2005, this same cartel presented a similar licensing bill to the Washington State Legislature, which studied the industry through their "Sunrise Review" and determined that this registration was unnecessary. The bill is put forth as a way to "protect the health, safety and welfare" of the public, but in reality it is designed to limit competition in the design industry. The review is found at http://www.dol.wa.gov...

I NEED YOUR HELP. I've been calling my legislators and my senator but they need to hear from the "public" as well. They need to know that HB-2895 / SB-6707 is not needed to "protect" you from interior design - instead it restricts your access to interior design services. If the competition is limited, that is when the harm to the public will occur - in the form of restricted access and higher costs.

Please CALL your Legislators and Senator TODAY 1-800-562-6000 to give them the following message:

PLEASE OPPOSE HB-2895 / SB-6707.  IT IS UNNECESSARY BECAUSE NO HARM TO THE PUBLIC WAS PROVEN DURING THE DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING'S SUNRISE REVIEW PROCESS.  THE HARM TO THE PUBLIC WILL COME IF THIS BILL PASSES BECAUSE IT WILL RESTRICT OUR ACCESS TO INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICES AND INCREASE OUR COSTS.

Or EMAILyour Legislators & Senator by going to: http://apps.leg.wa.gov.... Enter in your district information and it will take you to an "EMAIL YOUR LEGISLATOR" link on the site.