California Governor Gray Davis (http://www.governor.ca.gov) vetoed Assembly Bill 1096 regarding the role of the interior designer in the state. The legislature would have created a new regulatory program for the interior design industry. In his veto message, the governor said that “Government intervention in a marketplace should be reserved for cases where there is consumer harm.” Governor Davis’ veto message echoes one of the primary findings of last year’s AIA Interior Design Task Force: Although interior designers are significant members of the design team, there is no clear evidence that interior design registration is necessary to protect the public. Moreover, aspects of interior design that may affect public health, safety, and welfare are already covered by architectural licensing laws.
AIA’s contention is that the veto and related legislative conflict underline the need for future cooperation between architects and interior designers. The association says there are shortcomings in the current interior design education, training, and testing standards that must be addressed. Furthermore, says AIA, architecture and “interior design organizations should view this as an opportunity to work in a collaborative effort to address these problems rather than using our respective energy and resources on legislative endeavors.”
Based on a report from AIA’s Angle.
