YES WE CAN!22 major organizations have formed a coalition to support deregulation on behalf of well over 100,000 Floridians who would benefit from a repeal of Florida’s interior design practice act.
Click here for Coalition Letter sent to Senate President Haridopolos.
BAM!
The Fight for Interior Design Freedom is Ground Zero in Florida http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703551304576260742209315376.html?mod=WSJ_latestheadlines
Incredible PR spotlighting the intense battle that has been going on in Tallahassee for the last month.
Campo-Flores writes about the scenarios the Cartel has ”conjured:”
Of course, no genuine evidence or facts were given to back up any of these so-called safety issues. That’s because none exists.
Licensed designer Michelle Earley is quoted as saying, “it only takes a couple things [sic] to go wrong for people to lose their lives.” Same old tired scare tactics. Ms. Earley is certainly entitled to her own opinion, but not her own set of facts.
There is not a shred of evidence that the 47 other states that do not regulate interior design have been responsible for a single interior design-related death. In fact, 12 government agencies have concluded just the opposite: http://www.idpcinfo.org/GovReports.html
As ususal, the Cartel cites disasters like the 1980 MGM fire as examples of “faulty interior design.” Not mentioned in the article are the facts that the incident had nothing to do with unqualified interior designer work is completely belied by a 2005 article in the Las Vegas Review Journal, which makes clear that the primary reason why the fire spread was a combination of
(a) inadequate sprinklers;
(b) rampant code violations; and
(c) the defective flammable adhesive used to attach ceiling tiles.
Most of the victims died of smoke inhalation, but there has been no evidence presented that the quantity or lethality of the smoke was in any way enhanced by improper decorating or design choices. http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/Press%20Room/LasVegasMGMGrand.pdf
The article ends with a quote from interior designer Nancy Stehle which really says it all: “If you’re good at what you do, you never have to be concerned.”
Why not let Florida consumers decide who they want to hire to design their commercial spaces, exactly as it’s done in 47 other states, and without any harm to the public?
Bottom line, deregulation creates more jobs, and will not require that all commercial work be done under the supervision of an architect.
Patti Morrow, Director
Regulatory Roadblocks RemovedPatti Morrow, VISION magazine, August 2010
From the 1970s through 2005, there was a continous effort to establish state licensing of interior designers spearheaded largely by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) which achieved measured success. Even though only four states (Alabama, Florida, Nevada, Louisiana) actually enacted laws restricting the practice of interior design, 18 states adopted government-sanctioned titling laws restricting some variation of the title “interior designer.” And while the titling law seemed innoucous, the proponents for regulation used every additional state congressional session to attempt to expand titling into occupational licensing—in fact, three out of the four practice act states began with title acts. It was a 30-year march toward what proponents claimed was “inevitable” regulation.
My, how times have changed.
Read more here: http://www.idpcinfo.org/RegulatoryRoadblocksRemoved-Patti_Morrow.pdf
Current online issue of Window Fashion VISION available here:
http://www.epaperflip.com/aglaia/viewer.aspx?docid=0e2399bdc3ae4036bb0f8a3f7bbb2e3b
Not a week goes by that I don’t receive multiple inquiries as to why I became involved in fighting the interior design cartel and how the interior design Freedom Movement started. I’m not an attorney, not a lobbyist, never wanted to be a political activist. I’m just an interior designer who couldn’t bear to see the entire interior design industry destroyed. Yes, interior design is more than decoration, but it’s also more than just being able to read codes. All designers want their clients to be safe in their spaces, but our opponents’ drive to deny the aesthetic aspects of the profession smacks of lack of confidence in their ability, vision, and creativity.
I now find myself in a totally unforeseen career – educating, organizing and mobilizing grassroots and traveling the country with pink slingshot and pink boxing gloves in tow.
Last month, after sharing my story with a fellow designer, she said, “That’s so inspiring. You should write a book.” So after giving it some thought, I decided to craft not a book but instead a short autobiographical documentary which details my motivation, experience, and the pathway to protecting the design community’s rights to earn a living.
It’s been one wild rollercoaster ride, but second only to motherhood, no other endeavor has ever been so gratifying. I know, we’re not curing cancer or solving world peace, but saving thousands of jobs, well, that’s a good thing.
The Beginnings of the Movement
The Establishing of the Movement
The Future of the Movement
Click here to read entire autobiographical article: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/38330241/Patti-Morrow-and-the-Interior-Design-Freedom-Movement
Freedom Movement Allies Unite to Restore Design Freedom in FloridaThe Interior Design Protection Council (IDPC) was joined by ten other interior-design and allied organizations in filing their Amicus (“Friend of the Court”) Brief in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the appeal filed by the Institute for Justice last month.
These like-minded organizations include:
Among other things, these organizations agree with the fundamental principle that interior design regulations have nothing to do with protecting the public and everything to do with protecting industry insiders from fair competition.
“Patti Morrow and IDPC share our views on legislation of the interior design profession,” said Adrian Small, president-elect of the Association of Interior Design Professionals. “AIDP is committed to actively oppose any existing or proposed legislation that seeks to regulate the ability of interior designers to practice their trade. There is a time when we must join forces with our peers to insure that the voice of the majority of the interior design community is heard.” Continued Small, “This is that time.”
Natasha Lima-Younts, founder and president of the Designer Society of America, was one of over 600 members of the Florida design community victimized by the Board of Architects and Interior Designers’ ruthless witch hunt. “We are thrilled to support IDPC in this brief and in funding their important work,” declared Younts. “Yes, interior design involves creativity and critical thinking, but limiting who can offer interior design services to only a small, self-anointed handful provides no additional public protection, but instead results in fewer choices and higher prices for consumers.”
The Interior Design Protection Council is the only national nonprofit organization exclusively formed to protect the rights and livelihoods of the interior design community. Founder and director Patti Morrow has been instrumental in beating back over 100 efforts to expand or enact new interior design regulations. “What is so insidious about a one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme is that it not only negatively impacts interior designers, per se,” said Morrow, “but many other allied and ancillary industries as well.” Morrow claims that in Florida – Ground Zero in the fight for design freedom – people in more than 20 occupations were disciplined for violating the restrictive, anti-competitive interior design law, including office furniture dealers, restaurant equipment suppliers, workrooms, stagers, various retailers, kitchen designers, remodelers, real estate developers, art and antiques dealers, yacht design, and even a florist. “It’s time for the sun to set on the Florida interior design cartel!” avowed Morrow.
Also joining the fray are the National Kitchen and Bath Association and the Office Furniture Distributors Association, which each filed their own Amicus Brief.
Click here to read the Amicus Brief of the Interior Design Protection Council et al: http://www.idpcinfo.org/Amicus_Brief_of_Interior_Design_Protection_Council_.pdf
Patti Morrow, Executive Director IDPC
Organizations Opposed to Interior Design Regulation Academy of Staging and Redesign (www.decorate-redecorate.com)
Allied Board of Trade, NY
American Institute of Architects (www.aia.org)
American Lighting Association (www.americanlightingassoc.com)
Association of Design Education (www.associationofdesigneducation.com)
Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (www.aicad.org)
Association of Interior Design Professionals (www.aidponline.com)
Becoming Green, Inc. (www.BecomingGreenInc.com)
Decorators Alliance of North America (www.decoratorsalliance.org)
Designer Society of America (www.dsasociety.com)
Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association (www.feda.com)
Foodservice Consultants Society International (www.fcsi.org)
Interior Design Protection Council (www.idpcinfo.org)
Interior Design Society (www.interiordesignsociety.org)
Interior Redesign Industry Specialists (www.weredesignandstage.com)
Interiors by Decorating Den (www.decoratingden.com)
The Institute for Justice (www.ij.org )
National Association of Schools of Art and Design (www.nasad.arts-accredit.org)
National Association of Home Builders (www.nahb.org)
National Association of the Remodeling Industry (www.nari.org)
National Council for Architectural Registration Board (www.ncarb.org)
National Federation of Independent Businesses (www.nfib.com)
National Home Furnishings Association (www.nhfa.org)
National Kitchen and Bath Association (www.nkba.org)
North American Association of Food Equipment (www.nafem.org)
Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (www.iopfda.org)
Real Estate Staging Association (www.realestatestagingassociation.com)
School of Interior Redesign (www.schoolofinteriorredesign.com)
The only organizations actively advocating regulation of the industry are ASID and IIDA. Passively supporting are NCIDQ and CIDA — both founded by ASID in the 1970′s, hence the group’s title, “the cartel.”
Patti Morrow, Executive Director
As you know, a hearing was held yesterday on SB 2591, a bill which would have expanded the current “Certified Interior Designer” title act into full occupational licensing – and would have become the most restrictive practice law in the country. Senator Linda Scheid, Chair of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection scheduled the hearing based on the proponent’s claim that they had enough votes to pass it out of committee.
Good news, my friends, that did NOT happen!
Due to the large opposition turnout and testimonies, and rather than allow another overwhelming vote to kill the bill, Chair Scheid graciously granted that the bill be “tabled” (according to our sources, at the request of the bill’s sponsor, Senator Dibble), which means the practice act is dead — at least for this year. Professor Caren Martin testified on behalf of interior designers who support the bill. You may remember Professor Martin as the author of the failed attempt to discredit Dick Carpenter, Ph.D.’s highly acclaimed and meticulously researched Designing Cartels, and her efforts yesterday met a similar fate.
Click here to read details, including a link to the audio recording of the hearing. http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs060/1102107213116/archive/1103129436063.html
Click here to support the Freedom Movement: http://www.idpcinfo.org/Membership.html
Regards,
Patti Morrow
Executive Director, IDPC
Theme: Toni. Blog at WordPress.com.
