Senate Bill Sparks ?Turf War? Within Designer Community
July 16, 2007
By Elizabeth Zelma,
Reporter
There?s a turf war going on in Massachusetts. The dispute intensified last week at a State House hearing between two camps of interior designers on opposite sides of legislation. Senate Bill 178 would offer interior designers the opportunity to become licensed professionals with the right to bid on state contracts and stamp their own plans without an architect?s approval.
?The bill would allow interior designers to practice to the fullest extent of their capabilities,? said Deanna Waldron, director of government and public affairs of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Waldron was one of more than 20 attendees who testified.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Creem, D-Newton, has been proposed twice but failed in committee. If enacted, it would require anyone wishing to call themselves a certified interior designer to acquire a degree in interior design, obtain real-world experience and pass an examination administered by the National Council of Interior Design Qualifications.
Opponents say many practicing interior designers would not meet the strict criteria.
?The vast majority of designers, like myself, have a combination of formal and informal training in interior design and related fields, but not a four-year college degree in interior design,? said Linda Taylor, who started Boston-based Linda Taylor Interiors as a second career after two decades as a corporate attorney.
Jeff Stracka, who operates Nancy Stracka Interiors with his wife in Marblehead, agreed the education requirement is severe.
?To have this one-size-fits-all degree just doesn?t make any sense,? he said.
In its eligibility requirements, NCIDQ has made allowances for a lack of an interior design degree. Still, a minimum amount of coursework relating to the field is required. The less education received, the more supervised work experience is necessary to compensate.
Independent designers who never earned the appropriate course credits, according to Taylor, are worried that the legislation will restrict their freedom to continue running successful businesses.
Architects have joined forces with designers who oppose the bill. The Boston Society of Architects cites public safety as its main concern. Stamping drawings is a way for an architect or engineer to guarantee that safety issues have been addressed, and the BSA argues that allowing interior designers, who are not trained to address such concerns, to stamp drawings would obscure the process.
?The introduction of the bill creates confusion and compromises public welfare,? BSA President Hubert Murray testified during the hearing, which fell on the one-year anniversary of the Big Dig tunnel collapse.
Some believe the collapse was caused, to a certain extent, by a lack of central authority throughout the project. The BSA is concerned that similar tragedies may occur in the construction industry if S. 178 is passed. ?There is confusion as to who is actually responsible and who has put their stamp on something,? Murray said.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs also opposes the bill. ?The chiefs are concerned with the lack of depth of training and knowledge of the designers,? association President Robert DiPoli said, referring to fire-protection systems and structural integrity of buildings. While architects must pass a rigorous examination proving their expertise, DiPoli is unsure whether interior designers would have the same proficiency.
Rose Botti-Salitsky, president of the Massachusetts Interior Design Coalition, a nonprofit group that favors the legislation, said she was shocked when she learned of the fire chiefs? position. In 1993, a similar bill was passed in Maine with the full support of the state fire marshal.
MIDC, which is dedicated to advancing the professional status of ?registered? interior designers, maintains that its primary goal also is public safety.
Proponents of the bill, including MIDC, assert that because interior designers make decisions that impact the public welfare, licensure is necessary to ensure that only those who are qualified design interior spaces.
There is an exemption for residential interior designers who do no commercial work. According to MIDC, those designers ? as well as kitchen and bath designers ? would be able to continue practicing without becoming licensed.
But Clark Neily, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm based in Virginia, said the bill?s vague language regarding the exemption is unclear. He also questioned why, if the threat of unlicensed designers to public safety is a legitimate concern, a residential interior designer would be permitted to design a child?s playroom without a license.
The law, according to its supporters, is intended to increase the accountability of interior designers, not eliminate competition.
?We are not looking to diminish anyone?s livelihood,? Botti-Salitsky said.
Cheryl Durst, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the International Interior Design Association, a supporter of the proposal, said the bill would create opportunities for students and young designers who might otherwise relocate to more welcoming states. Today, 26 U.S. states and jurisdictions have some form of interior design licensing or registration laws, according to ASID.
?Interior design legislation will legitimize our field by giving certification and registration to professionals that want to practice,? said Nicole Makris, who will soon graduate from Wentworth Institute of Technology with a bachelor?s degree in interior design. Makris said she is considering leaving the state because Massachusetts does not recognize her as a licensed professional.
?Much More Workable?
Addressing the issue of recognition, opponents of the bill have suggested an alternative. Under separate legislation, the state would certify professional designers and distinguish them from non-professionals. The certification also would be based on education, training and an exam.
Filed by Rep. Martin Walsh, D-Dorchester, the proposal does not require the stamping of drawings. It has been endorsed by architect associations, including the BSA and the American Institute of Architects? Massachusetts chapter, which represents the interests of licensed architects.
?This bill is much more workable,? said Jay Wickersham, BSA secretary. ?The BSA supports interior designers wanting to distinguish themselves from interior decorators through the house bill certification.?
According to Botti-Salitsky, the alternative legislation was created without any suggestions from the design community. ?This bold move by the BSA exhibits yet again their ongoing attempt to keep the interior design profession under their thumb,? she said.
But Patti Morrow of Live Free and Design, a Concord, N.H.-based association that seeks to protect the rights of interior designers, contested the implication that it?s a battle between designers and architects. ?This is a turf war between designers and designers,? she said.
