The 2025 legislative session is now in full swing. At the state level, regulatory reform is still a priority, but legislative interest in reasonable regulation of the interior design profession also continues to be taken up across the country. So far, six (6) states have introduced legislation creating or expanding recognition and practice rights for NCIDQ Certified interior designers, with more still expected in the years to come.

 

But first, let’s look back to the states that successfully passed legislation to regulate interior design last year, which have been busy implementing their new regulatory frameworks. In Nebraska, NCIDQ Certificate holders can now register with the Department of the Treasury for the “Registered Interior Designer” title and seal. As of March, there are over 60 Registered Interior Designers in the state of Nebraska. This promising growth helps convey the need for interior design registration. In Pennsylvania, the Board of Architects, which will now oversee Certified Interior Designers, has begun promulgating rules to make the title available to qualified practitioners in Pennsylvania. NCIDQ Certificate holders in these jurisdictions are encouraged to register with the respective departments and help show their support for reasonable regulation. More information about the CID title in Pennsylvania will become available soon. 

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We continue to see progress in legislation re-introduced for this new legislative session. In Alaska, a title act with permitting privileges has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Matt Claman. Notably, this bill also includes the sunset extension and several changes for the state’s Board of Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS), which voted to support the bill by a majority vote. This inclusion provides some urgency to the passage of this bill. In Massachusetts, Title Act legislation has been reintroduced after passing the Senate last year. In Missouri, legislation was reintroduced that would modernize the state’s scope of practice and provide independent practice rights for Registered Interior Designers. On the new legislation front, a title act with permitting privileges has been introduced in Oregon, which creates a voluntary registry for commercial interior designers. Advocates in all these states have met several times with their state component of the American Institute of Architects to address their concerns related to legislation that establishes reasonable regulation of interior design. This collaboration and transparency have been part of a promising trend we are beginning to see at the state level, and we encourage this dialogue between design communities in all jurisdictions taking up this issue. 

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We are also seeing legislation in some states updating and modernizing existing statutes. In Alabama, a bill has been introduced that removes the prohibition on the size and type of building for which a registered interior designer may perform work. This language borrows from CIDQ’s Model Law, which is recommended for the defined scope of practice language it contains. In New York, legislation has been reintroduced adjusting the eligibility requirements for the state Certified Interior Designer title to align with the NCIDQ Exam requirements. New York is one of only two states in the country with more stringent requirements for the state title than for the NCIDQ Exam, which is inadvertently preventing qualified practitioners from registering with the state. 

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Meanwhile, as reasonable regulation continues to advance in the states, national trends in deregulation continue to be prevalent. In Florida, legislation was introduced in the state Senate that deregulates the interior design profession. Through our work with the Consortium for Interior Design, CIDQ will continue to oppose any legislative effort that weakens public safety and eliminates recognition of qualified design professionals who demonstrate competency through education, experience, and examination. If you live and work in the state of Florida and wish to get more active in opposing this legislation, reach out to your state legislators to let them know you oppose interior design deregulation and contact CIDQ to get involved. 

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We are also continuing to see proposals for government reorganization and regulatory board consolidation. Following on the heels of Iowa’s Boards and Commissions Review Committee's effort to consolidate and eliminate dozens of regulatory boards in 2023, we are seeing several similar proposals surface in the 2025 session. Perhaps the largest such proposal has materialized in Nevada. This bill provides for a radical consolidation of regulatory boards in the state and would combine all the design professions into one large ‘mega board’ through a joint, multi-disciplinary board overseeing licensure for architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, interior design, and land surveying. Fortunately, it maintains oversight of Licensed Interior Designers, but we expect amendments to this bill in the coming weeks. The language of those amendments could be impacted by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office of Small Business Advocacy’s recent recommendation in their biennial report to deregulate the interior design profession. CIDQ has written to this office to educate them on the necessity and importance of reasonable regulation, and we hope to continue that dialogue. 

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Other proposals for government reorganization were offered in Arkansas and Oklahoma. In Arkansas, Governor Sarah Sanders’ Arkansas Forward Progress report proposes two different “mega board” structures, not dissimilar to what was proposed in Nevada. That proposal has yet to materialize into introduced legislation. Also, in Oklahoma, Governor Kevin Stitt has signed an executive order establishing the Efficiency in Licensing Task Force, a task force like that convened in Iowa, tasked with a review of the state’s licensing regulations. Efforts such as these are usually a precursor to board consolidation and reorganization proposals. We expect that this trend will continue in other states in the years to come. 

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 Overall, it has been, and will continue to be, a very busy legislative year. If you have any questions about interior design regulation in your state or want to get more involved in advocating for reasonable regulation, please reach out to Matt Barusch, CIDQ’s Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy. All NCIDQ Certificate holders have a responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and having more practitioners involved in these efforts strengthens the likelihood of success in creating reasonable regulation that does just that.