03.08.24
CALL TO ACTION: Get Up To Speed On IIDA’s 2024 Advocacy Efforts
IIDA’s Northern and Southern California chapters’ advocacy efforts are moving ahead full steam this year to advance legislation that empowers commercial interior designers. In recent discussions surrounding these efforts, various points of view have emerged that illustrate the passionate engagement of professionals in the A&D industry. As part of our ongoing commitment to elevating our profession, it’s crucial to clarify the intentions of our efforts and dispel any misconceptions.
There are three main tenets of our objectives this year:
- Modernization: Working with state lawmakers to develop a governance structure that better reflects the increasing complexity of our practice and acknowledges the interdisciplinary landscape of our project teams.
- Consistency: Aligning commercial interior designers, and our statutory privileges, with the standardized regulatory environments of our peer professionals on the job site, in our offices, and across the nation.
- Equity: Acknowledging that the commercial interior design field is led by women and queer professionals, who currently do not enjoy the same statutory privileges as the colleagues in related fields.
TODAY: Monday, March 11th is the California Architect’s Board Sunset Review hearing and, based on the board’s sunset report, we anticipate these longstanding, structural issues to be a significant discussion. This follows on the heels of months of meaningful engagement with stakeholders. Don’t worry – we’ll be there to advocate for you! We are privileged to have this opportunity to collaborate with our lawmakers and architectural colleagues to align with many other states that govern architecture and interior design professionals under equivalent or joint regulatory structures.
When pushing for progress, it’s natural, and expected, for concerns from others to arise. It’s important to emphasize that our proposed goals seek to support, not undermine, our diverse community of professionals. As IIDA members, please understand that there is NO effort being made to dismantle the existing Certified Interior Designer (CID) structure. Instead, we aim to carve out a modernized governance structure that grants consistent privileges specifically for commercial interior designers. This is not a new concept; 31 other jurisdictions (29 states + DC and Puerto Rico) have some form of state-governed regulation for our profession. Even as recently as this week, a title act granting the ability to stamp and seal for state-registered interior designers was signed into law in Nebraska. For a leader like California, this change is long overdue.
We invite you to follow along during this process and look forward to the ongoing constructive conversations with our industry colleagues; this is only the beginning.
As we embark on this transformative journey, we invite you to join us in driving change and elevating the practice of interior design in California. If your firm wants to show their support please reach out to [email protected].
Best Regards,
Gabrielle Mote, IIDA
VP Advocacy, IIDA Southern California Chapter
Adam Newton, Associate IIDA
VP Advocacy, IIDA Northern California Chapter
