Dear Maryland design community and supporters of the Freedom Movement: March 2009
On February 13, the Maryland State Legislature introduced an Interior Designers Licensing Act which, if adopted, will be the most restrictive interior design law in the country.
If this bill passes, in order to continue practicing interior design, you will have to be NCIDQ certified. That means you may have to close down your business and go back to school, or go to work under another licensed designer (if you can even find one willing to hire you) at little or no pay in order to qualify to sit for the NCIDQ exam.
We simply cannot stand by and allow the interior design cartel to monopolize all the business in Maryland and dictate to consumers who they may hire. We need your help to stop it.
Please please plan to attend the hearing:
March 17th
1:00 p.m.
Room 230 of the House Office Bldg
6 Bladen St, Annapolis MD 21401
This law would put many thousands of Maryland designers, decorators, contractors and retailers out of business without any demonstrable showing of harm to the public from the failure to license the interior design profession. If passed, Maryland would go against the vast majority of states which found such legislation to be anti-competitive and unnecessary.
If this law is passed, only 325 designers will be allowed to practice. Thousands will lose their ability to earn a living and contribute to the growth of Maryland's economy.
There are only three states in the entire country that have interior design practice laws, and none were passed since the 1990s. Most recently, the Supreme Court of Alabama struck down and declared unconstitutional that state's interior design practice law which was less restrictive than the one being proposed here.
At least twelve state agencies reports have examined the need for titling and/or licensing laws for interior designers and all found no benefit to the public, concluding that consumers already possessed the means to make informed decisions about interior designers. Click here to access all twelve reports.
In 2002, the Maryland Department of Legislative Services conducted a Sunset review of Maryland's existing interior design title act and recommended a repeal of that law, stating that the regulation of Interior designers was not needed to assure the protection of the public as the interior design services offered by certified interior designers present no risk of serious injury or financial harm to the public. Nothing has changed since the date of that report.
Please note that under this bill, interior design is defined to include:
Preparing and administering interior design documents, including drawings, schedules, and specifications, in the planning and design of interior spaces involving:
- furnishings
- layouts
- fixtures
- cabinetry
- lighting fixtures
- finishes
- materials
- interior construction
There is NO grandfathering for those who are not already certified. You will NOT be able to continue practicing.
Click here to read the entire bill.