Legislation

Health, Safety, and WelfareHEALTH, SAFETY
& HEALTH, SAFETY
Every decision an interior designer makes in one way or another affects life safety and quality of life. Qualified interior designers have comprehensive professional training, technical knowledge and responsibilities, and must have many competencies including:

* Space planning that provides proper means of egress

* Lighting design in the home and workplace

* Specifying furniture, fabrics and finishes that comply with fire codes and toxicity standards

* Determining proper application and appropriate use of finishes for maximum safety

* Barrier-free design

* Compliance with national, state and local building codes

* Design solutions for those with special needs

* Designing ergonomic work spaces

 

Myths and Facts about Interior Design Regulation for South Carolina

Myth #1 - "There has been no demonstration of the harm to health, safety or welfare benefit to the citizens of SC. There is no real danger to the public."

FACT: According to The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), when fire has been the cause of harm or death in public spaces that everyone utilizes, the most common cause is the inappropriate use of materials - draperies, upholstery fabric, carpet, paint, etc. - that are insufficiently flame retardant. In some cases, those design elements have actually increased the rate at which fire has spread increasing the level of both structural damage and personal injury or death. The examples cited occurred all too often in places like hotels, hospitals, office buildings or nursing homes where the public should be confident that their safety has been taken into consideration.

Myth #2 - "Building codes already provide needed protections."

FACT: That is no different from suggesting that laws protect people, rendering lawyers irrelevant. While writing a set of rules is certainly an essential part of the interior design - or justice - it is also essential that consumers are confident of a designer's knowledge and understanding of those codes and how they should be implemented and enforced.

Myth #3 - "The purpose of this bill is to 'absolutely prevent you from working in the state of South Carolina' - unless, of course, you meet the requirements of the new law."

FACT: As is the case with the practice of architecture, engineering and other professions that impact the built environment, this bill does include restrictions on the provision of interior design services in many commercial settings. However, it also specifies a number of key exceptions and exemptions which protect the business interests of decorators, residential kitchen and bath professionals, retail establishments, contractors, and others in the broader design community who may not meet the requirements of a "registered interior designer." Among them are exemptions for design in connection with retail sales and installations and "do-it-yourself" projects and a specific exemption for the practice of interior design in any single or two-family residence, regardless of size. The bill also includes a generous grandfathering provision that not only protects existing businesses, but provides a number of avenues through which designers qualified by experience or education can qualify as a "Registered Interior Designer."

Myth #4 - "You have to pass the NCIDQ to become registered in the state." (Grandfathering)

FACT: The National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) Exam is a standardized national exam that tests interior design professionals on all aspects of interior design - including key elements like building codes, regulatory requirements and environmental sustainability. The exam is divided into three sections - one that assesses knowledge of building codes and regulatory standards, one that addresses the beginning and middle stages of a project often referred to as the schematic and design development part of a project, and a practicum that tests the ability to practically apply those elements in planning a design environment through contract documents and administration.

Under this bill, passage of the NCIDQ would automatically qualify an interior designer for registration by the state. However, if a designer has a demonstrated history of practice as well as minimum education requirements or necessary recommendations, he or she can qualify for licensure by successfully completing just Section One of the NCIDQ, which assesses knowledge of building codes and regulatory standards.
This standard was established as a compromise, in an effort to strike a balance that provides a means by which designers who are qualified by experience can continue commercial practice without undue burden while also protecting the public from unqualified professionals.

Myth #5 - "The NCIDQ is tied to two national design organizations that want to discount other exams that should also qualify designers for licensure in South Carolina."

FACT: NCIDQ is an independent, non-profit organization with a primary goal of identifying to the public "who have met the minimum standards of practice for professional practice." While NCIDQ was initially the creation of two interior design organizations nearly forty years ago, it was established to be and remains autonomous. It is currently the only standardized national examination that tests interior design professionals on all aspects of interior design - including key elements like building codes, regulatory requirements and environmental sustainability. Alternatively, it does not test factors that are not critical to public health, life safety and welfare, such as furniture styles or design history.

The study of interior design can give a person the option of going into over one hundred career choices. Many designers choose to further their study in their chosen specialty to differentiate themselves from others. Several segments of Interior Design have their own design organizations with certain requirements to join, required CEU's , and separate exams testing their area of expertise in that specialty. The NCIDQ determines those "who have met the minimum requirements for professional practice", and does not test design specialties.

Further, to keep an NCIDQ certificate current, designers are required to complete 10 hours of relevant continuing education bi-annually.

As is the case with architects, attorneys, accountants and other highly trained professions, the interior design community has one tool that adequately and independently assesses the professional qualifications of those who seek to practice at the highest level. While secondary certification may be helpful to enhance preparation for certain specialty practice areas, they do not effectively test the basic tenets of interior design that are necessary to protect the consuming public.

Myth #6 - "I won't be able to call myself an Interior Designer."

FACT: This bill in no way restricts the ability of anyone to call him or herself an Interior Designer.

Myth #7 - "This will restrict consumers choice while increasing the cost of hiring a designer."

FACT: This bill provides for qualified Interior Designers to register with the state, providing a means through which the public can clearly differentiate between someone with a good eye for color or a knack for style and someone with the requisite training and experience necessary to successfully seek licensure as a Registered Interior Designer. In fact, by educating consumers about the differences between qualified interior designers and decorators, this bill will actually increase consumer choice and allow homeowners to make an educated decision that best meets their individual needs. It also provides a mechanism through which consumers can seek disciplinary action and restitution when they fall prey to an unscrupulous or misleading interior design consultant.

Myth #8 - "This is just a ploy to increase the income of a few select designers.".

FACT: While some registered interior designers may see an increase in revenues, the real professional advantage from licensure comes with elevating the quality of designers in the state. By rewarding a higher level of education and professional achievement, South Carolina will attract and retain graduates from the interior design programs across our state and elsewhere. As things currently stand, many of South Carolinas best and brightest designers leave the state in order to practice in Georgia, Florida or other states that encourage and reward higher levels of professional achievement.

 

Myth #9 - "This is about growing big government and intervening in people's lives for no purpose."

FACT: When American families send their kids to school, go to work in an office building, help their elderly parents retire to a retirement community, vacation at a hotel, check into a hospital or spend time in a shopping mall, they are directly affected by the decisions of designers. Whether it is the fire retardant carpeting and upholstery fabric in a library or nursing home, slip resistant flooring in a restaurant, bacteria-resistant surfaces in a doctors office or proper lighting in an office environment, the health, safety and welfare of nearly every member of the American public is protected by Interior Designers every day. Certainly these issues - that affect every South Carolinian in some way - are significantly more critical to the health, safety and welfare of our citizens than professions such as hair braiding and shampooing, both of which have recently been regulated by the State of South Carolina.

Myth #10 - "There is no support by the public/consumer affairs/ etc."

FACT: Unfortunately, even members of the General Assembly often have a hard time differentiating between Interior Designers and Decorators, and the consuming public in many cases is no more informed. To differentiate qualified interior designers from those with a knack for style would go a long way toward ensuring that consumers have the tools to make the right choices for their homes and families when they seek interior design services.

Myth #11- "Interior Designers and Decorators are the same - they pick out drapes and paint colors and make things pretty."

FACT: While those are likely to be talents that decorators and Interior Designers both possess, what really sets professional Interior Designers apart is the education, experience and the national examination that qualify them to do much, much more than just make a space appealing to the eye. Contrary to what many might think, a color wheel is often the last thing an Interior Designer pulls from his or her "tool box" - the first are much more likely to be building codes, safety standards, a determination of proper ingress and egress allocation, and an assessment of lighting needs or handicap accessibility standards, among other things.

Myth #12 - Alabama Supreme Court

FACT: While the Alabama Supreme Court did strike the Interior Design Practice Act in 2007, the provisions the court deemed unconstitutional pertained only to the use of the term "Interior Designer," which they ruled too general a title to limit to the use of a limited group of people. In 2008, the law was amended to reflect the court's decision and reinstated with all other elements intact.