No Harm from Unregulated Interior Designers in Texas

TEXT FROM THE INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE.

The Texas Association for Interior Design (TAID) wants to make it illegal to practice interior design in Texas without a government license.

Over the past 20 years they have spent tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of dollars on lobbyists, claiming that unregistered interior designers present a danger to the public health and safety.

On June 6, 2007, Marilyn Roberts, president of TAID, e-mailed the group's membership the following request for information:

"We must get cases of harm in Texas!!!!!!!

Any jobs you have had that you have corrected something potentially or proven harmful to your clients (harmful physically or emotionally). Any contacts you have with building plan reviewers, Registered Accessibility Specialists inspectors, fire marshalls, inspectors of any kind that would have found violations that hopefully a registered interior designer corrected. Would help to have cases from residential, commercial-large or small projects, medical facilities, nursing homes, etc. Remember, not just fire code related issues, but using materials that are not antimicrobial where needed, not having areas accessible, anything..........."

Two years later, KXAN TV-Austin asked Ms. Roberts to name one example of an unregistered interior designer harming a member of the public.

Her answer to this important question?

"Actually, there are not things that I can document right now."

Regulating interior design has nothing to do with protecting the public and everything to do with protecting a small cartel from fair competition. Its about cutting out fair competition. It would destroy jobs and raise prices. Thats wrong for Texas.

See Reason.tv's Throw-Pillow Fight: Is your interior designer really putting your life at risk?