This is an urgent message regarding House Bill 7047 that seeks to repeal licensure for interior designers in the state of Florida. Together, American Society of Interior Designers/ASID, International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and IDAF are conducting a strategic “rapid response” plan to encourage amending or defeated the bill in the Florida legislature.
Bottom line: We need to get as many email messages to the state House of Representatives in Tallahassee as possible before the bill returns to the Commerce Committee very soon.
Currently as the bill is written, it contains language that would have detrimental effects on the state’s interior design businesses as well as the industries it financially supports.
Consider that the bill as written could –
• Force interior designers to sell their ownership stake in a design firm that offers both architectural and interior design services.
• Create a government sanctioned competitive disadvantage on interior designers (read more below).
• Spur job loss at small business interior design firms since interior designers would have to pay extra fees to architects and engineers to get them to stamp and seal interior design plans and then submit it for a building permit.
• Increase costs on interior designers – a 75 percent small business profession, 90 percent of which are owned by women.
• Significantly decrease the financial impact of a profession that currently contributes over $2.8 billion to Florida’s economy including generating just under $620 million for businesses that are indirect beneficiaries of interior design.
• Lower wages for interior designers employed by a design firm.
• Remove legal protections that help interior designers get paid for their design work.
• Devalue interior designers relative to architects and engineers because they would not lose their license or practice rights.
• Prevent interior designers from being able to work on federally funded design projects.
HB 7047 creates a government sanctioned competitive disadvantage on interior designers. Consequently, this would increase the price of interior design services on consumers. Both of these negative impacts are directly related to the ability for a licensed interior designer to sign/seal their plans and then submit them for a building permit. Interior designers would not be allowed to do either without a license. Instead, they would have to pay extra fees to architects to do it. This automatically would put interior designers at a competitive disadvantage because architects would be able to low bid interior design projects. In reality though, the customer would not be getting a lower price. It would raise the price because there would be less competition due to interior designers being effectively handcuffed.
This bill also sends the wrong message to Florida’s students in its top-tier interior design programs. The state is home to some of the best interior design programs in the country. Students at any one of the 19 interior design programs would be unable to practice to the fullest extent of their abilities and training. If the state supports these students education, especially at public universities, it should support them once they have their degrees.
Please click this http://p2a.co/OYA7hGX or text “InteriorDesignerFL” to the number 52886. Doing so will allow you to conveniently email all the representatives of the House at one time and with the most impactful message possible that supports Florida’s interior design profession.
It is vital that as many residential and commercial interior designers, students, industry partners, educators and clients as possible, who either live or work in Florida, contact these elected officials. Again, please click here http://p2a.co/OYA7hGX to do so.
As always, thank you for your support. It’s really appreciated. Until then, please spread the word by email, text, and social media for people to support Florida’s interior designers!
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