What's happening
The bill updates regulations for certified interior designers in New York, allowing them to submit sealed documents and requiring continuing education for certification renewal.
Why it matters
Empowers certified interior designers to more fully participate in building projects. By allowing them to seal and submit construction documents directly to public officials, certified interior designers can now take on a broader, more autonomous role in project workflows, reducing reliance on architects or engineers for document approvals within their scope.
Establishes clear accountability and professional standards. The requirement that only documents prepared or supervised by the designer can be sealed—and that alterations must be tracked and attributed—helps ensure professional responsibility, traceability, and ethical practice, potentially reducing errors and disputes.
Prioritizes public safety and accessibility through continuing education. By mandating ongoing education focused on health, safety, fire codes, and accessibility (including ADA compliance), the law seeks to ensure that interior designers maintain up-to-date knowledge of critical regulations that directly impact building occupant well-being.
Increases consumer protection and professional credibility. The new standards and oversight for continuing education providers, as well as explicit penalties for unauthorized alterations of sealed documents, aim to increase trust in the profession and protect clients from unqualified or negligent practitioners.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Allow Interior Designers to Seal Plans
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to higher education
- Print number 1896a
- Amend and recommit to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Expand Interior Designer Authority
In Assembly Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Ellen C. Jaffee
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1896--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 11, 2017
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the practice of certified interior design; and repealing certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 8302 of the education law is REPEALED and a new section 8302 is added to read as follows:
§ 8302. Special provisions: seals; authorization to submit construction documents. 1. (a) The board shall prescribe, by rule, one or more forms of seals to be used by certified interior designers holding valid licensure under this article.
(b) Each certified interior designer shall obtain one seal in the form approved by rules of the board. All original construction documents and instruments of service including drawings, plans, specifications, or reports prepared or issued by the certified interior designer or by a full-time or part-time subordinate employed under his or her supervision, and being filed with public officials shall bear the signature, date and seal of the certified interior designer who prepared or approved the document and the date on which they were sealed.
(c) No certified interior designer shall affix, or permit to be affixed, his or her seal or signature to any plan, specification, drawing, or other document which depicts work which he or she is not competent or licensed to perform.
(d) No certified interior designer shall affix his or her signature or seal to any plans, specifications, or documents which were not prepared by him or her or under his or her responsible supervising control or by another certified interior designer and reviewed, approved or modified
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00878-03-7
S. 1896--A 2
and adopted by him or her as his or her own work according to rules adopted by the board.
2. Notwithstanding provisions of law to the contrary, a certified interior designer with a valid license or limited permit under this article may submit sealed, stamped construction documents and instruments of service within their definition of practice to any official of this state or any city, town or county charged with enforcement of laws, ordinances, or regulations. No official of this state or of any county, city, town or village therein, charged with the enforcement of laws, ordinances or regulations relating to certified interior design practices, shall reject or deny any plans or specifications for the sole reason that they are stamped:
(a) with the seal of a certified interior designer registered in this state and bearing the authorized facsimile of the signature of such certified interior designer; or
(b) with the official seal and authorized facsimile of the signature of a certified interior designer not a resident of this state, but who is legally qualified to practice as such in his or her own state or country, provided that such person holds a limited permit issued by the department, and provided further that the plans or specifications are accompanied by and have attached thereto written authorization issued by the department for the specific project.
3. To all plans, specifications, construction documents and instruments of service to which the seal of a certified interior designer has been applied, there shall also be applied a stamp with appropriate wording, warning that it is a violation of this law for any person, unless he or she is acting under the direction of a certified interior designer, to alter them in any way. If an item bearing the seal of a certified interior designer is altered, the altering certified interior designer shall affix to the item his or her seal and the notion "altered by" followed with his or her signature and the date of such alteration, and a specific description of the alteration.
4. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to authorize a certified interior designer to submit plans, specifications, construction documents and instruments of service that are outside of the definition of practice of interior design as described in section eighty-three hundred three of this article.
5. Nothing contained in article one hundred forty-five or article one hundred forty-seven of this title shall be construed to prevent a certified interior designer from submitting plans, specifications, construction documents and instruments of service that are within the definition of practice of interior design, as described in section eighty-three hundred three of this article, to any official of this state or of any county, city, town or village.
§ 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 8302-a to read as follows:
§ 8302-a. Continuing education; renewal or restoration of the title "certified interior designer". 1. An applicant for renewal of registration for certification to use the title "certified interior designer" shall submit proof, as determined by the board, of having completed twenty-four continuing education units from a board approved continuing education provider during the term of their registration. An applicant shall prove completion of continuing education units by submitting with the renewal application the following information:
(a) Official documentation from a continuing education unit provider that shall include:
S. 1896--A 3
(i) The name and address of the continuing education unit provider;
(ii) The date or dates on which the applicant attended the provider's continuing education unit course;
(iii) The name of the continuing education unit and a description of the subject matter covered; and
(iv) The hours of credit earned by the applicant due to their successful completion of the continuing education unit; and
(b) Satisfactory documentation that a combined total of at least sixteen continuing education unit's addressed one or more of the following subject matters:
(i) The health, wellness or overall consumer protection of building occupants;
(ii) Public safety, with an emphasis on the impact and application of the state, county, and local building codes, especially those pertaining to fire safety within interior spaces of a building and/or structure; and
(iii) The impact and application of the Americans with Disabilities Act and New York state, county, and local accessibility standards, ordinances, laws, and regulations pertaining to accessibility.
2. An individual with an expired registration of more than one year seeking to restore such registration shall be required to meet the same continuing education requirements as individuals applying for renewal of their registration provided in subdivision one of this section.
3. The board may approve only those continuing education providers that have substantial experience and an established record of offering and providing continuing education unit course offerings on an annual basis that contribute to individuals' growth of professional competence in the practice of interior design as it pertains to upholding health, safety and welfare within interior spaces of a building or structure.
4. (a) The board may, in its discretion, grant extensions of no more than one year for renewal after expiration of an applicant's registration, if such applicant's failure to submit proof of completion of required continuing education unit's was due to an emergency or hardship including, but not limited to:
(i) Serious and protracted illness of the applicant;
(ii) The death or serious and protracted illness of a member of the applicant's immediate family; or
(iii) The applicant and or the applicant's spouse being on extended active military duty.
(b) An extension granted under this subdivision shall not relieve a certified interior designer from complying with the continuing education requirements to renew their registration provided for in this section.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to the practice of certified interior design; and repealing certain provisions of such law relating thereto
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill would help New York certified interior designers, many of whom are small business owners, stay competitive with Interior designers In neighboring states by allowing them to use signing authority that they have under existing law to stamp and seal documents that are submitted to public officials.
Summary of provisions
Section one of the bill establishes a new Section 8302 of the Education Law to provide an amendment allowing certified Interior designers to utilize current signing authority and obtain seal privileges prescribed by the State Board for Interior Design for all documents and instruments of service filed with public officials.
Read the full memo (643 words)
In addition, Section one of the bill provides for a warning to be placed upon the stamped documents along with the seal and that it is a violation for anyone other than the Certified Interior Designer or someone acting under their direction to alter the seal.
The bill also clarifies that nothing that nothing contained in this section shall be construed to authorize certified interior designers to act outside of their definition of practice of interior design.
Section two of the bill provides for a mandatory 24 hours of continuing education credits per registration period.
Section three of the bill provides for an effective date one hundred and twenty days after having become law.
Justification
This bill amends the Education Law to provide stamp and seal privileges to New York State Certified Interior Designers that is a privilege presently provided for and exercised by many other state recognized interior designers (including the contiguous states of Connecticut and New Jersey and other states including Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Virginia, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia).
Chapter 905 of the Laws of 1990 provided for the certification of Interior Designers by the State Education Department. Recent data from the US Bureau of Labor statistics indicate that New York State interior designers account for over 10 percent of the total $10 billion generated nationwide from this industry. Equally important, this industry is driven by mostly women owned small companies, with five employees or less, which make up over 75% of the interior designer businesses.
Under current law, Certified Interior Designers must outsource permitting for nonstructural changes that do not impact building services or building envelope for which they are currently authorized and regulated by the State Education Department, resulting in higher costs for the consumer and perpetuating an unfriendly business climate. This bill would allow these services to be provided in house, resulting in savings to the consumer and the public, maintaining appropriate protection to the public, and consistent with the present statutory authority of this profession in the Education Law.
These changes would provide Certified Interior Designers the ability to utilize their current statutory authority consistent with their professional expertise, education and experience. Moreover, this refinement would ensure that New York State keep pace with other states and remain competitive with those states that currently allow for stamp and seal privileges.
The modification advanced in this bill will have a positive impact on the economic and business climate of New York State. It will also allow Certified Interior Designers, especially those concentrated in the Metro New York area and who are small business owners, to seek additional opportunities, such as expanding those small owned businesses, enhancing interior design students' future, and ensuring trust with clients (or consumers).
Legislative history
2017: A.864 (Jaffee) 2015-16: S.1137-A/A.3446-A (O'Donnell) 2013-2014: S.7360/A.9260 (O'Donnell)
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This act shall take effect 120 days after having become a law.
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