Letters: Interior Design Board unneeded

A major revelation of the 2012 legislative session is the fact that Bobby Jindal fails miserably as a fiscal conservative. To further demonstrate that fact, one needs to look no further than a board under his own office: the Interior Design Board.

The CATO Institute, a think tank focusing on limited government and free markets, which would be expected to align with Jindal principles and policies, has on its website a study conducted by the Institute for Justice. The study reveals the fact that, in states which regulate interior designers, since 1998, an average of one out of every 5,650 interior designers has experienced a regulatory complaint for reasons other than licensure! Such is certainly the case in Louisiana!

For over a year, I’ve been videotaping meetings of the Interior Design Board, and anyone can view the videos at http://www.auctioneer-la.org/idbvideos.htm. During that time, not one consumer complaint has been presented. Instead, the board spends upwards of 90 percent of its time (no exaggeration!) discussing how to “educate the public” on how important it is for designers to be licensed.

It’s funny that CPAs don’t have a need for such discussions, nor do lawyers, doctors, real estate agents, plumbers, barbers, etc. The very fact that a board must devote such an incredibly large percentage of its meeting time justifying its existence is itself evidence that its existence isn’t justified.

Only three states (Florida, Louisiana, and Nevada) require interior designers to be licensed, with approximately 19 other states deploying less-formal “practice act” requirements. The remaining 28 states get along just fine with no regulation of interior designers whatsoever.

The Institute for Justice has appropriately blasted interior-design regulation as creating artificial barriers to entry, designed to do nothing more than artificially inflate interior designers’ income. Numerous other governors (New York, Colorado, California, New Jersey, and Ohio) have vetoed legislation calling for regulation of the interior-design profession. If liberal states like New York and California see no logic to such regulation, surely a “fiscal conservative” governor like Bobby Jindal can see that wisdom!

If Gov. Jindal truly wants to be a fiscal conservative, he should start by abolishing a board directly under his own office, the Interior Design Board, sweep its fund balance into the general fund to offset health-care cuts, and thereby demonstrate to the nation that he trulsy can “walk the walk” and not merely “talk the talk” of a fiscal conservative!

Robert Edwin Burns

real estate auctioneer

Baton Rouge

Comments

1) Comment by jthompson - 19/07/2012

Try submitting interior architectural drawings to the local building department's plan review if you don't have an interior designer's seal or architect's seal. It would not be allowed. This has nothing to do with interior decoration. You do not need a seal or stamp to select a color scheme for your bedroom. This has to do with public safety for commercial drawings that are required for building permit. As a commercial interior designer in another state that does not have licensure for interior designers, I am forced to do my job under the seal of another architect. Allowing qualified interior designers who design non-structural architectural interiors, like myself, to be able to seal their own drawings for building permit opens the door for them to be able to own their own small business and do their work without having to work under an architect. It actually deregulates the architectural design realm slightly to allow more people to be able to do what they are trained in school and qualified to do. If you are really wanting to lessen government and provide more opportunities for working people and small business, you would be in support of this board, not against it.

2) Comment by pal1 - 02/07/2012

Mr. Burns, You got it exactly right. Interior Design legislation serves no good purpose and is crippling the industry. Stop the insanity! Pat

3) Comment by Chucky - 02/07/2012

i sure do not want an interior designer or flower arranger who is not controlled by a board , just imagine what artistic horrors they might come up with. What is the penalty for arranging flowers and doing interior design ( moving the couch over there) with out a lic.?

4) Comment by bourbon-soda - 02/07/2012

First they came for the interior designers, then the barbers, then the auctioneers ( http://www.lalb.org/ ), then the teachers, and then the brain surgeons. According to the ID board's website (http://www.lsbid.org/ ) this was passed in 1999 - don't know who controlled the legislature, but Mike Foster was governor and could have vetoed, consistent with his libertarian stance on motorcycle helmets. This is classic "rent seeking," the keys to the kingdom for numerous occupations since the medieval guilds. Good article on "rent seeking" at wikipedia. A spinoff of this is law is publicly funded education so interior designers can get licensed ( http://www.dcc.edu/divisions/cplibarts/degreeprograms/intd/ ) much like teacher colleges. What appears to be a 2-year program at Delgado is implied to be a "degree."

5) Comment by Bighug - 02/07/2012

We want things done right in Louisiana! That's why interior designers and flower arrangers must be licensed. Can you imagine the inhumanity that would be caused by a poor flower positioning or wall colors that clashed? King Jindal will abolish the boards as soon as they do something against his wishes.

6) Comment by lovemykids - 01/07/2012

I would much prefer for my interior designer to certified by the state than my children's teachers.