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March 2004
Issue
AIA Washington Council believes the basis for licensing
an individual to practice architecture should be for the protection of
public health, safety, and welfare. Only this profession tests its applicants
for knowledge of all public life/safety provisions of current building
codes. Therefore, to safeguard life, health, and property and to promote
the public welfare, the Council seeks to eliminate the unlicensed practice
of architecture within the State of Washington and to confine the practice
of architecture to architects. The current practice of public agencies
allowing other design professionals to stamp drawings for structures intended
for human occupancy does not adequately protect the public’s life/safety.
Background
The Interior Design Coalition of Washington (IDCW) was
recently formed to promote and pass legislation that legally recognizes
the profession of interior design and protects the interior designers’
right to practice. They introduced companion bills in the 2004 Legislature,
HB 2513 and SB 6194.
Once the bills were scheduled for hearings in the House
and Senate, negotiations got under way to amend the IDCW language to meet
AIA’s criteria, as ordered by the Chairs of the Commerce Committee
is each house. Negotiations continued as each bill was voted out of the
committees of origin, went through the respective Rules Committees and
onto the floor calendars. At no time did AIA Washington Council take a
position related to either bill, stating that we had concerns and were
in the process of negotiating. At the end of session, neither bill passed
the Legislature.
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