My name is Vienna Romesburg and I live and work in Virginia. I write this comment in STRONG support of the continued regulation of the Interior Design Profession in Virginia.  I am a Certified Interior Designer, a CID, licensed by the state of Virginia and I practice Interior Design at Washington and Lee University.  The work I do there informs the design of higher education spaces, office spaces and even athletic spaces used by faculty, staff, students and the public that come to the University.

It is clear, eliminating regulation of Interior Design would gravely harm VA CIDs, Interior Design small businesses and others int he Commonwealth. For example:

• In order to hold a position on a corporate board for a "Professional Corporation," the employee must be licensed or certified in their profession by the Commonwealth. Eliminating the Interior Design regulation would prevent Interior Designers from serving on the board of Architectural and Interior Design Firms.
• RFP's (Requests for Proposals) and RFQs (Requests for Qualifications) in the Commonwealth of Virginia and for Federal Government projects that include Interior Design services, require that the Interior Designer providing these services be a Certified Interior Designer. Eliminating the regulation would bar Virginia Interior Designers from submitting these proposals.
• Job postings for Interior Designers in the Commonwealth and for Federal Departments typically require and Interior Designer  to be a Certified Interior Designer. Eliminating the regulation would exclude Virginia Interior Designers from these opportunities.

In Virginia, of the 1,272 Interior design establishments in the Commonwealth, 96% are small businesses of four or fewer employees. 83% of these small businesses are women or minority owned. Eliminating Interior Design regulation could put these entrepreneurs out of business for some of the reasons listed above.

Eliminating the Interior Design statute would also harm the Commonwealth. Being a CID in the Commonwealth provides the public with knowledge that a minimum set of requirements, including education, experience and testing have been met. Certified Interior Designers do complex design work in large public and code-regulated spaces like hospitals, senior living facilities, universities, corporate offices and multi-family housing where public life-safety is impacted. CIDs use and have knowledge of building codes, standards and other laws and regulations that are essential to the safe construction of public and other code related buildings.

In light of the pandemic and as Virginians get back to their places of work - stores, businesses, corporate offices etc. it is Certified Interior Designers, like myself who are redesigning and space planning these environments to mitigate COVID-19 risk. I recently spent the entire month of August space planning all the classrooms spaces at W&L University to allow the students to return to campus and their classrooms.

Our health is influenced by everything we touch in interior spaces. Disease-causing pathogens, like those that spread COVID-19, can be transferred from person to person, but also through everyday contact with objects like office door handles, restroom grab bars and classroom desks. It is critical to have interior environments that can protects our health by reducing pathogen transmission. Interior Designers specify materials and finishes in 90% of residential and commercial construction and renovations and these professions will be key in protecting the US against not only this virus but others.

Regulating interior design is a sensible practice. Washington DC, Maryland, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky all have statutes in place for the regulation of the title and/or practice of Interior Design. In total, 27 states and two federal juristictions regulate interior design. No jurisdiction has ever deregulated the practice of Interior Design.

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 services 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 respectfully ask you not to consider elimination of the regulation of my profession.

Thank you,

Vienna Romesburg, CID