SUPPORT Continued Regulation of Interior Design in Virginia
I LIVE IN VIRGINIA. I write this comment in STRONG support of the continued regulation of the interior design profession in Virginia.
As a healthcare interior Designer and project manager I understand how important it is that those in my profession are educated and certified. The certification allows my clients to know that I take my profession seriously and that I understand that their health and well-being is affected by the work that I do. Similar to architecture, Design impacts all who come in contact with The built environment. Regulations mean that we are keeping those in the built environment safe.
It is clear, eliminating regulation of Interior Design would gravely harm Virginia Certified Interior Designers, Interior Design small businesses, and others in the Commonwealth.
Eliminating the Interior Design statute would also harm the Commonwealth. Being a Certified Interior Designer in the Commonwealth provides the public with knowledge that a minimum set of requirements, including education, experience, and testing, has been met. Certified Interior Designers do complex design drafting work in large public and code-regulated spaces like hotels, hospitals, corporate offices, and multifamily housing where public life-safety is implicated. CIDs have a knowledge of building codes, standards, and other laws and regulations that are essential to the
knowledge of building codes, standards, and other laws and regulations that are essential to the safe construction of public and other code-regulated buildings.
In light of the pandemic and as Virginians get back to their stores, businesses, and corporate offices, it is Certified Interior Designers who are redesigning and space planning these environments to mitigate COVID risk.
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 objects like office door handles, restroom grab bars, and schoolroom desks. It is critical to have interior environments that can protect our health by reducing pathogen transmission. Interior designers specify materials and finishes in 90% of residential and commercial construction and renovations and
renovations and these professionals will be key in protecting the US against the virus.
Regulating interior design is a sensible practice. Washington D.C., 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 jurisdictions regulate interior design. No jurisdiction has ever deregulated the practice of interior design.
