My name is Joe Bovee and I live and work in Virginia Beach. I write this comment in STRONG support of the continued regulation of the interior design profession in Virginia.
 
I am a licensed architect in Virginia and Principal at HBA Architecture and Interior Design. This year marks my 23rd year at HBA, and 23rd back in Virginia practicing architecture after working out of state for 5 years. HBA is a 'medium' sized architecture and interior design firm who has been in business in Virginia for 46 years. I have had the pleasure of working with many licensed interior designers both here at HBA, with consulting partners, and with clients who have design professionals on staff for over 30 years now. 
 
It is clear in my opinion that eliminating regulation of Interior Design would gravely harm Virginia Certified Interior Designers, Interior Design small businesses, and others in the Commonwealth. One of many examples includes the type of work I do for HBA serving our Federal and DoD Clients. The work we do for the Federal Government requires that the Interior Designer providing these services be a Certified Interior Designer. Eliminating the regulation would bar Virginia interior designers from performing this work and require that I sub-consult the work to licensed professionals if my staff could no longer support it. 

After learning about this issue through the IIDA, I also learned that in Virginia, that of the 1,272 interior design establishments in the Commonwealth, 96% are small businesses (four or fewer employees), and 83% of these small businesses are women or minority-owned. Eliminating interior design regulation would crush these entrepreneurs and small businesses because of the reasons listed in this comment.
 
I believe that eliminating the Interior Design statute would also harm the Commonwealth. Our Certified Interior Designers provide the public with knowledge that a minimum set of requirements, including education, experience, and testing, has been met. In our practice, Certified Interior Designers do complex design drafting work in large public and code-regulated spaces like K-12 schools, Municipal complexes, hotels, corporate offices, retail spaces, and multifamily housing where public life-safety is implicated. CIDs have knowledge of building codes, standards, and other laws and regulations that are essential to the safe construction of public and other code-regulated buildings.
 
The interior design statute is not restrictive or protectionist. The title protection law—enacted during the 1990 Session of the General Assembly—does not restrict the scope of practice and serves as the framework for the voluntary certification program. While only certified interior designers may use the title “Certified,” any individual may contract with a client to render services as an interior designer, interior decorator, or similar practitioner if the client so chooses.
 
Eliminating the voluntary regulation of interior design in Virginia is bad public policy. Continued regulation is vital to the practice, profession, industry, consumers, and the public’s health, safety, and welfare. I ask you to not eliminate the regulation of this profession.

Thank you, 

v/r

Joe Bovee, AIA