Tag: legislation

Lobby Day: A Gathering of Passionate Voices

In total, IIDA met with nine legislative offices during the Lobby Day, making a grand total of thirty separate meetings with legislators and staff in the last two months alone. This high degree of engagement is only possible with the support of thought-leading firms and an active community of members.

The Hearing: From Discussions to Decisions

On March 11th IIDA represented commercial interior designers to the Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee for the California Architects Board Sunset Hearing. We appreciated the comments from Senator Roth, a long-time and esteemed member of the committee, and our colleagues at the American Institute of Architects California Chapter. This hearing was a very preliminary first step as we ramp up for more robust conversations so we are looking forward to collaborate more with stakeholders as this process progresses.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

The Northern and Southern California chapters of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) have proudly announced the awarding of the prestigious 2023 Legislator of the Year to State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman. This accolade is a testament to Eggman’s exemplary legislative leadership. As the third annual lawmaker to receive this award, Eggman joins a cohort of celebrated legislative leaders in California. Northern California President Elect Melissa Pesci, AIA, LEED AP, and VP of Advocacy Adam Newton, Assoc. IIDA, met with Senator Eggman in her Sacramento office to present the award.

Senator Eggman’s work spans several key areas important to California’s commercial interior designers, notably in improving health care and advocating for environmental sustainability. Her legislative priorities not only address urgent societal needs but also resonate with the values of the interior design community. Her efforts to enhance public health and make healthcare more accessible reflect IIDA’s commitment to inclusive and supportive environments. She’s also been a steadfast supporter of sustainable projects and initiatives, echoing IIDA’s focus on design excellence and environmental stewardship.

“This award not only honors Eggman’s substantial legislative achievements but is also an acknowledgement of the similarities in her social work background, to the occupational barriers commercial interior designers experience everyday. Eggman’s legislative efforts reflect an understanding of how essential it is to recognize the value and expertise required by these women-lead professions,” noted Adam Newton, VP Advocacy IIDA Northern California. The IIDA Northern and Southern California chapters look forward to continued collaboration with Senator Eggman’s office. To learn more about Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman’s initiatives and legislative work, or to show your support, you can visit her official website.

This year, over 2,630 bills were introduced across the Senate and Assembly houses–a higher number of bill introductions than is typical and the highest number in over a decade. This crush of bills paired with the State’s projected $31.5 billion budget deficit, foreshadows an unlikely future for some initiatives with big price tags. With the 2023 Legislative session nearly halfway complete, we wanted to provide an update of IIDA’s California chapters’ actions on a few pieces of key legislation.

The Northern and Southern California chapters of IIDA have joined together to adopt positions on seven bills which align with our chapters’ missions and core values. These bills include equity, climate and sustainability-focused initiatives, as well as two bond proposals that would, if passed by voters, provide funding for new construction to repair and modernize school facilities for California’s students.

This Spring, IIDA’s California Chapters joined together to evaluate and provide amendments to SB 816 which was heard and advanced by the Senate Business and Professions Committee this week. 

Committee Chair, Senator Roth, presented the bill to his colleagues on the committee and concluded his remarks with a pledge to continue advancement in this area, noting “I look forward to continuing to work with commercial designers and others in this space to determine what additional changes may be necessary to ensure efficiency and the appropriateness of the Council’s [California Council for Interior Design Certification] work.”

In prior conversations with the B+P Committee’s consultants – staff who work year-round on regulation of professions and vocations – IIDA representatives learned the primary purpose of this bill is to align statute to current practice. This alignment includes the codification of the Commercial Designation for Certified Interior Designers which has been issued by the Council since 2017 but was not previously recognized in statute which contributed to confusion among design professionals and issues of stamp acceptance at local building departments.

As the preeminent professional association for commercial interior designers, IIDA supports the bill’s recognition of the commercial interior design specialty. Several other states also differentiate the work of interior designers this way including Utah which passed the State Certification of Commercial Interior Designers Act in 2016.

IIDA also recommended minor clarifying language to committee consultants to ensure SB 816’s statutory updates do not contribute to confusion in the already-complex landscape of design professions in California. The clarifications included recommending that any further changes to the regulation of commercial interior designers should be brought to the Legislature for review, as is typical practice for regulating bodies of other professional boards who wish to make changes to requirements for education, testing, continuing education, etc.

Advocate designers as well as IIDA’s lobbyist team will continue to engage in the progress of SB 816 as it advances to the next phase of legislative review by the Senate Appropriations Committee for fiscal analysis. All legislative engagement by IIDA is rooted in the belief that regulated interior design is crucial for the public health, safety and welfare of all Californians and IIDA’s commitment to the ability of commercial interior designers to practice to the fullest extent possible.

For more information regarding IIDA’s EDI efforts, visit each chapter’s EDI resources:
Northern California EDI 
Southern California EDI

This spring, IIDA’s California Chapters joined together in support of Assembly Bill 342 which was heard and advanced by the Assembly Business and Professions Committee at the end of March. 

Introduced by Assemblymember Avelino Valencia of District 68 in Southern California, AB 342 allows the California Architect Board to ask licensees to provide demographic information including race, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity at the time of initial license and at the time of renewal. The American Institute of Architects state component in California sponsored the legislation stating that, “the collection of this demographic information is essential to [our] EDI efforts, as it allows for research to be done to understand attrition and recruitment patterns impacting the profession. From there, we can better develop strategies to address any patterns that create barriers to entry within the profession.”

As participants in the same broader commercial building design industry and passionate believers in an equitable, diverse, and inclusive professions, IIDA extended strong support for AB 342. We believe the collection of this demographic information will bring value to the industry at large, advancing us toward our shared Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion goals. More importantly this data aids in our effort to ensure the spaces designed by architectural professionals are created by a community that reflects the diversity of  residents of California. This data can also help inform future policies to address any professional equity gaps. 

For more information regarding IIDA’s EDI efforts, visit each chapter’s EDI resources:
Northern California EDI 
Southern California EDI

As the voice of the commercial interior design profession in California, IIDA’s Northern and Southern California chapters join together in efforts of interior design advocacy every day by working to raise the visibility of our members, educating public officials about the value of what we do, and generally increasing awareness and understanding of our work and the impact we make in our communities. 

Our advocacy efforts in 2022 were focused on the CCIDC Sunset Review. This process of legislative oversight is designed to ensure that boards and councils authorized by the state are acting in compliance with their laws and regulations, and are upholding their obligations to maintain license and certification standards, and preserve the safety of members of the public for whom the license or certificate holders provide services.

IIDA’s outreach with thought leaders and policy makers has arguably never been stronger than it was this year. Throughout the course of the Sunset Review, members of the IIDA Northern and Southern California advocacy teams met with both the chairs and several members of the Senate and Assembly of the Business and Professions Committees. Those Committees have jurisdiction over Sunset Review hearings, and are critical in shaping the outcome of the reauthorization conditions of the boards, bureaus and councils that come before it. In addition, countless meetings were held with committee staff, CCIDC leadership, and industry partners. 

The goal of our meetings was to convey IIDA’s position heading into and throughout the Sunset Review, and to make our case for thoughtful, collaborative changes to the current certification structure for commercial interior designers practicing in California, including the requirement of a national exam and the definition of  commercial interior designers’ scope, among other recommendations. Designers also communicate the caliber, technicality, and impactfulness of the work commercial interiors do, dispelling myths and correcting misperceptions that lawmakers, like all members of the public, have about our profession. 

Despite our efforts, the changes we were seeking did not make it into the final version of the Sunset Review legislation.

In early-August, staff from the Business and Professions Committee shared with stakeholders draft amendments that they were comfortable making to the Sunset Review bill. These amendments were minor, and essentially conformed statute to the current practices of CCIDC. While these amendments were a far cry from what IIDA was hoping to see, staff made it clear that anything more substantive would not be included in the bill. 

However, due to “procedural issues” late into the legislative session, even these minor amendments were not included in the bill. Instead, the amendments will be run again next year with other amendments that didn’t make it into their respective sunset review bills in 2022. The next sunset review for the CCIDC is slated for January 2026.

While the results weren’t what IIDA had hoped for going into the year, several developments unrelated to the sunset review indicate the status quo for interior design legislation is changing. For example, in July AIA California voted to change its decades-long policy of categorical opposition to the creation of an interior design practice act in a move that aligns with the same position reversal of AIA National and NCARB in 2021. Also in 2022, the expansion of commercial interior designers’ practice rights was passed and signed into law in Wisconsin and Illinois.

This year was undoubtedly a lesson in the minutiae of legislative procedures in a year when the statehouse is still clearing the backlog of work that was put on hold during the pandemic. However, there is strong momentum to continue our work with stakeholders and a new legislature in 2023 and beyond.

IIDA is proud to recognize State Assemblymember Mike Gipson as the 2022 Legislator of the Year recipient. This annual award recognizes an elected official who has put forth extraordinary effort on behalf of causes championed by the commercial interior design community. IIDA leaders presented the award in October at his district office in Gardena, California in Los Angeles County.

Asm. Gipson represents the 64th Assembly District encompassing much of the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. He served for nearly a decade as a councilmember for the city of Carson before his election to the California State Assembly in 2014. Since 2016, he’s held the position of Democratic Caucus Chair, a role responsible for helping drive the legislative priority for members of his caucus.

Asm. Gipson has met with representatives from IIDA’s Northern and Southern California boards multiple times over the years, including this past spring during the 2022 sunset review process for interior design regulation. Asm. Gipson impressively recalled specific details of IIDA’s recommendations for modernization of California’s interior design regulation, recognizing both the negative impacts of current regulation on professionals and the public, and the opportunity for positive change, encouraging IIDA advocates to continue pursuing the elevation of the commercial interior design profession.

Moreover, Gipson’s legislative accomplishments and policy platform achieve progress with a lens of equity and justice. IIDA’s California chapters recognize the imperative responsibility of the commercial interior design profession to pursue justice in our industry and our communities and seek to offer the expertise of its members to lawmakers in their work.