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Advocates for allowing Oregon interior designers to stamp their own construction drawings are ramping up efforts to create a state-approved licensing program for the profession.

A bill proposed earlier this year, Senate Bill 1521, was backed by the Interior Design Collaborative and would have required interior designers to obtain a license to work on commercial spaces. It gained some traction, but failed to advance out of committee. However, IDC-Oregon recently hired a lobbyist, and members plan to reintroduce a revised version of the bill early next year.

Oregon interior designers cannot stamp their own construction drawings, but must instead rely on an architect for some projects to move forward, said Ingrid Hoffman, a senior interior designer with LRS Architects and a public representative for IDC-Oregon. A state statute also does not include interior designers in the definition of registered design professionals who can sign off on project plans before obtaining construction permits, she said.

鈥淎ll we are saying is that we want to be recognized as a registered design professional if we have these qualifications,鈥� she said.

Proponents of the legislation say licensed interior designers have sufficient knowledge of building and fire codes to attest to the safety of tenant improvements and other solely interior projects without the oversight of an architect. The American Institute of Architects disagrees. Nationally, the professional organization’s official position on the issue is that only licensed architects and engineers possess the necessary education.

Oregon AIA Executive Vice President Robert Hoffman said the chapter stands by the national position, but one of the questions on a current survey of Oregon architects asks for their opinions on allowing interior designers to stamp construction drawings. The survey results could reshape the chapter’s position on the issue, he said.

If legislation like SB 1521 were to pass, Oregon would join 28 states and Puerto Rico 鈥� they for interior designers, said Roberta Pennington, an associate interior designer with Ankrom Moisan Architects and vice president of advocacy for the Oregon chapter of the International Interior Design Association. Such laws identify and regulate the qualifications of interior designers to stamp drawings and obtain building permits, she said.

鈥淎ll of the states’ governments have seen that it’s beneficial,鈥� Pennington said. 鈥淚t basically defines our scope to say, 鈥業’m a registered design professional. Let me permit.’ 鈥�

Under the Oregon interior designer licensing proposal, a board of industry professionals would issue licenses to designers who have achieved certain standards for education and experience and passed an examination administered by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification. These licensed professionals would then be recognized by the state as qualified to stamp construction drawings for commercial interiors projects.

Residential interior designers, kitchen and bath designers and consultants, and consultants at furnishing stores would not be required to register.

In the past, proposed legislation to create a state interior design licensing board has turned off legislators because they see it as an added layer of bureaucracy, Ingrid Hoffman said. The latest bill may scrap this idea and instead simply advocate for state recognition to stamp drawings for interior designers who have passed the NCIDQ examination, similar to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards test for architects.

鈥淲e don’t necessarily need our own board,鈥� said EMC Interior Design’s Ellen Cusick, an IDC member. 鈥淚t would be nice to stamp my own drawings.鈥�

State-recognized licensing would eliminate the need for Oregon interior designers to constantly justify the work they do and allow projects to move along quicker without an architect getting involved, Pennington said.

鈥淚t streamlines the process for our clients,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 often have to qualify my level of expertise.鈥�

Allowing interior designers to stamp would also bring down the cost of doing business in Oregon, Ingrid Hoffman said.

鈥淲e’re never going to be able to compete on equal footing (as architects) because we’re always going to have to charge our fee plus a fee to hire an architect to stamp our drawings,鈥� she said.

Although city of Portland building officials often interpret the state statute on registered design professionals to include interior designers, staffers from other Oregon cities insist that an architect stamp the drawings, said Andrea Bainbridge, owner of Portland-based interior design firm Bainbridge. That can be tricky for the interiors-only firm that has no on-staff architect.

鈥淲e have situations where we do have to go through an architect,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat’s been a problem because our long-term clients will often know they better just hire an architect. So it’s definitely lost us business.鈥�

Misconceptions about the scope of what interior designers do is one challenge to getting licensing legislation passed, Cusick said.

鈥淚t would be a lot more clear about what we’re allowed to work on,鈥� she said. 鈥淎rchitects can charge more because they have that stamp 鈥� I think a major barrier is people don’t understand what interior designers do. They think it’s all pillows and paint.鈥�