The law that allows the California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC) to certify interior designers is up for review this year in the State Legislature. This oversight review, called a Sunset Review, is a normal process for professions that are authorized and regulated by the state. The California Architects Board had its last sunset review in 2019, for example, and various boards are undergoing a sunset review this year, including the Board of Registered Nursing, Board of Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy Board, and CCIDC, among others.
While Certified Interior Designers (CID) are not directly regulated by the state like architects, engineers, nurses, and doctors, state law does authorize the nonprofit entity CCIDC to certify individuals who have demonstrated competency through education, experience, and examination.
AIA CA expressed its support for CCIDC at the Sunset Review Oversight Hearing held on March 10 by the State Senate Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development and the State Assembly Committee on Business and Professions.
The CID law was created by legislation in 1990, and was a compromise between AIA CA and interior design organizations that were seeking a Practice Act for interior designers. A Practice Act would have restricted practice to those licensed by the state. Instead, 1990 agreement kept the law that allows unlicensed individuals to design spaces that are exempt from the Architects Practice Act (nonstructural and nonseismic alterations that do not affect the safety of the building), and provided consumers of those services an ability to know if the unlicensed individual has demonstrated competence with an interior design certification provided by CCIDC.
CCIDC also is asking for a change in the law that would specifically allow CIDs to include elements in their documents that do affect the safety of the building, such as horizontal exiting and rated corridoors. Historically, AIA CA has opposed efforts to make these changes to state law. The change CCIDC is seeking can be found on pages 45 and 46 of their Sunset Review document submitted to the Legislature.
For your information, here is the background paper on the CCIDC Sunset Review prepared by legislative staff.
Please feel free to contact the AIA CA Director of Government Relations Mark Christian, Hon. AIA CA at mchristian@aiacalifornia.org if you have any questions or comments.
