For most state legislatures across the country, summertime means the end of the legislative session. Except for a few full-time, year-round legislatures, many states will be ending their legislative two-year session cycles, during the summer months. This means that any bills that have not passed before the legislature adjourns are officially dead and will need to be introduced next year. Among the states that introduced bills that did not pass this year and will be reintroduced next session are Alaska, New York, and Missouri. 

 

Fortunately, several interior design bills passed before the end of this year’s legislative session. In Oklahoma, legislation establishing a Commercial Practice Act was signed into law. The bill changes the title “Registered Commercial Interior Designer” to “Licensed Interior Designer”, creates an updated, specified scope of practice, and requires practitioners to be NCIDQ Certified to practice within that scope. This bill makes Oklahoma the latest state to establish or modernize legislation for registered interior designers, following Nebraska in March 2024. 

 

Legislation in Massachusetts has also made progress through the legislative process. S.2805, which recognizes commercial interior designers with a protected title, passed the Senate on June 6th. This bill is supported by IIDA and ASID chapters in Massachusetts and now awaits consideration in the House Ways and Means Committee. 

 

Finally, legislation in Iowa that would have eliminated the Interior Design Examining Board was amended to remove those provisions and passed the Legislature this year. Those provisions arose from the Boards and Commissions Review Committee’s recommendations in a final report released in 2023 but ultimately did not become law. This amendment was a fortunate victory for advocates of reasonable regulation of interior design, who educated legislators on the importance of subject matter expert-led regulatory boards. 

 

Overall, this legislative session continued the progress of recent years in advocating for reasonable regulation of the interior design profession. We look forward to continuing this momentum through our work with the Consortium for Interior Design. Click here to learn more about the Consortium or reach out to the Director of Government Affairs Matt Barusch to learn more about how you can get involved.