SPONSOR: Gallick
This bill modifies the registration of interior designers from the Division of Professional Registration, within the Department of Commerce and Insurance, with advice and recommendations by the Interior Design Council to the licensing of interior designers from the Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors, Professional Landscape Architects, and Licensed Interior Designers. The Board will increase from 15 members to 17 members with the two new members being licensed interior designers.
The bill defines the practice of licensed interior design along with modifying provisions to include a personal seal for licensed interior designers. Each personal seal for professions regulated by the Board must be distinct from personal seals for other professions. A licensed interior designer must affix his or her seal to all final interior technical submissions prepared by or under the direct control of the interior designer, except as provided by the bill.
A licensed interior designer will undertake to perform interior design services only when he or she is qualified by education, training, and experience in the specific technical areas involved. Furthermore, this bill modifies the educational and training requirements for licensed interior designers by repealing the qualification of at least three years of an interior design curriculum from an accredited institution with three years of experience. Additionally, an applicant will be exempt from providing substantial evidence of certain educational and training qualifications if his or her curriculum or transcript has been approved by the Board.
Nothing in the bill will be construed as preventing or restricting persons from engaging in professional services limited to the design of kitchen and bath spaces or the specification of products for such spaces in noncommercial settings.
Current law provides that a renewal or reinstatement application for registration as an interior designer must be accompanied by proof of completion of continuing education in the fields of either interior design or architecture. This bill repeals this provision and provides that the Board must establish the continuing education requirements for interior designers which will be substantially equivalent to the continuing education requirements for architects. The bill includes licensed interior designers in the definition of "design professional" for immunity from civil liability for participation in a peer review process.
This bill is similar to SB 287 (2025), and SB 1325 and HB 2158 (2024).
Statutes affected:
Introduced (1448H.01): 324.001, 324.028, 324.400, 324.402, 324.403, 324.406, 324.409, 324.412, 324.415, 324.418, 324.421, 324.424, 324.427, 324.430, 324.433, 324.436, 324.439, 327.011, 327.031, 327.041, 327.081, 327.381, 327.411, 327.441, 327.442, 327.451, 327.715, 537.033, 621.045