Registered interior designers.

Existing law defines certified interior designers and interior design organizations, permits a certified interior designer to obtain and use a stamp identifying the designer, and, among other things, makes it an unfair business practice for a person to represent himself or herself as a certified interior designer unless he or she complies with certain requirements. This bill would create the California Registered Interior Designers Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The bill would require the membership of the board to consist of an unspecified number of members who are required to be registered interior designers and an unspecified number of public members. The bill would require the Governor to appoint the public members and the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly to appoint unspecified numbers of the licensee members. The bill would provide for the licensure and regulation by the board of persons who engage in the practice of registered interior design, as defined. The bill would require the board to issue a license to a person who meets specified requirements, including, but not limited to, completing an application, paying a specified fee, submitting proof of successful completion of certain education and work experience, and submitting proof of passage of an examination approved by the board or a specified examination prepared and administered by the National Council for Interior Design. The bill would also require the board to issue a license to, among others, specified certified interior designers or persons with certain interior design experience if they are certified by the National Council for Interior Design or have passed an examination approved by the board or a specified examination administered by the National Council for Interior Design. The bill would enact various provisions regarding the practice of registered interior design, including, but not limited to, practice requirements, license requirements, conditions for license renewals including the completion of continuing education, and grounds for revocation or suspension of a license, among other disciplinary actions. The bill would authorize licensees, architects, landscape architects, and engineers to join or form business organizations or associations, except as specified, with persons outside their field of practice if certain requirements are met. The bill would authorize a licensee, if required by a local government in relation to the issuance of a permit, to prepare and seal interior design documents to be submitted for certain building permits. The bill would create the California Registered Interior Designers Board Fund and would authorize the committee to impose various fees on registered interior designers to be deposited in that fund. The bill would make it unlawful for a person to hold himself or herself out as, or solicit business as, a registered interior designer or use the title "registered interior designer" unless licensed pursuant to these provisions. The bill would also prohibit a person from engaging in the practice of registered interior design without a license. The bill would make a violation of any of these provisions a misdemeanor and, by creating a new crime, would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would enact related provisions, and would declare the intent of the Legislature in this regard. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.