New green energy proposal: exhume the bodies of several founding fathers and wrap them with copper wire, so that the spinning in the graves produces electrical current.

M.S.Fred, that's fabulous!

No interior decoration without taxation!

Don't thread on me!

I regret that I have but one baroque frame to give....

Join or to die for.

"What in the hell does Oregon need a "Board of Commercial Interior Design" for?"

Dear Grumpy Reader - This is how 90% of these bills originate. Select interior decorator has a friend in the legislature. Said I-D ask legislator to posit a bill due to the peril to society of un-regulated I-Ds running around. Brother-in-law, oops sorry, legislator, wraps this bill arodun something else in exchange for his vote on something equllay stinky by another legislator.

Bill gets passed and sister-in-law, erm, interior decorator enjoys less competition and buys nicer XMAS gift ofr brother-in-law.

See that's how democracy works all the way from GE and Warren Buffet down to the average citizen.

It seem that the legislature has some bizarre rule in place that make it impossible to figure out who sponsored any given bill. It's a license for lunacy ... Wait ... we need a State Board of Lunatics to issue and monitor the licenses ...

Jesus. What a mess.

Another utterly predictable outcome of yearly sessions.

I recently went on a couple dates with a girl who had just graduated from OSU with an interior design degree. I was really taken aback by how many regulations they have to put up with--and there's also apparently some licensure test that costs $1000+ to take. In fact, it seems like there's fewer regulations on becoming a highway engineer than on becoming an "official" interior designer.

Ii don't know if that's just an Oregon thing, but regardless, this state has its priorities completely screwed up.

This issue came up in the last session, too.

In 2011, HB 2491 that would have established a Board of Interior Design and created a "Board of Interior Design Fund and continuously appropriates money in a fund to board".

It died in committee.

Now SB 1521 appears to be identical except for the date for a person practicing interior design must register. The old bill gave people until January 1, 2017 to register. The current bill will require interior designers to register by January 1, 2013.

The argument for the board seems to have something to do with needing some architectural knowledge. Beyond that it seems goofy to me.

Remember we, as taxpayers, have limited dollars we can contribute to government. Use our money wisely.

Committee meetings on this measure --
Senate General Government, Consumer and Small Business Protection Committee
8:00 am, February 13, 2012
Public Hearing and Possible Work Session
Room: HR B
Agenda item: 2
http://gov.oregonlive.com/bill/2012/SB1521/

Oh, what to wear, what to wear?

This overmanagement of interior decorators really stinks. Why is this necessary? What kind of harm are they trying to forstall? I think you can function as a mediator without a license (although there are programs available) and the consequences of poor mediation are far graver than those of botched Feng Shui.

I thought all the bizarre licensing in Oregon had something to do with it being a form of back door tax. I always joked to my out-of-state friends that they do that here instead of having a sales tax.

I was amazed when I moved here to find that bartenders, food service workers, flaggers, and seemingly all manner of lower skilled workers had to not only be licensed, but pay for and attend training to obtain those licenses. It's a huge "public-private partnership" scam, IMO.

In a previous life I worked for a painting contractor.
The bane of our existence were "decorators".
They of so often did not know what they wanted to do nor how to actually do any of the work to get the look they thought they wanted.
I can't count the number of times we could not get one to understand that trusting a tiny paint sample from the store to select a color is folly.
This is not to say I want them regulated but to suggest that anyone who thinks decorators have any level of education or skill requiring regulation needs to have a UA performed.

What this really sounds like is someone with power and influence must have had a bad experience with an Interior Designer, and decided that rather than deal with the issue the way most normal people would, they would pass word on up to their legislator that "something needs to be done here".

Reading the bill, "interior design" appears to refer to non-structural space planning as opposed to "decorating". Whether that should require a license is another question.

If so, hrmph. Talk about rearranging deck chairs on the Titannic....

Oh wait, I think I get it: those outlaws are the ones shooting up the streets in N & NE Portland, and running those multi-million dollar "sustainability" scams on taxpayers, and everything that goes with the major white-collar crime wave that's been afflicting the Beaver State --rack 'em up!

It's for the children. Go by magic carpet!

As much as bojack.org is a part of my daily life, after reading about Tri-Met, METRO, killer cops, insane
apartment-condo-green-bioswale-scams, tricky parking regs to scam more money and on and on, have to admit that sometimes I'm tempted to go brush my teeth with a loaded 12 guage shotgun. But being a boomer that might not be a bad thing for society at large. Hate to give that kind of intense pleasure to the ex wife who would break into the song "Happy Days Are Here Again."

Anyone can hang a shingle and call themselves an "interior decorator". Those with formal design degrees from an accredited university devote themselves to rigorous, highly technical programs for four to six years. A bachelor's or master's in interior design is a professional degree in the truest sense. There needs to be a distinction between the professionally credentialed and the ubiquitous "pillow puffer".

And the naturally talented can't make a living unless they pundle up wads of cash for licensing jazz or undertakes titanic student loan burdens just to get a string of consonants after their name? Dr. Decorator?....spare us. It's ridiculous, and oppressive.

Put your crayons away Mojo and re-read the bill. This is for Commercial Interior Design only. I want more than "natural talent" when it comes to addressing comprehensive life safety issues in ALL phases of commercial building design, including interiors and space planning.

Nah, I think we all get it, SKA --

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. (1) As used in sections 1 to 14 of this 2012 Act, “practice of commercial interior design” means client consultation and the preparation and administration of design documents relating to a nonstructural and nonseismic interior area of a commercial building or commercial structure designed for human occupancy.

(2) “Practice of commercial interior design” includes, but is not limited to, the preparation of:
(a) Design studies;
(b) Drawings and renderings;
(c) Schedules;
(d) Specifications;
(e) Bid contracts;
(f) Space plans;
(g) Reflected ceiling plans;
(h) Lighting plans;
(i) Egress plans;
(j) Ergonomics plans;
(k) Indoor air quality plans;
(L) {sic} Design or specification of fixtures, furnishing or equipment....

And THIS sheds some light on that mysterious "emergency" legislative initiative that no legislator will cop to sponsoring in Salem:

ASID Legislative Symposium 2012

The American Society of Interior Designers presents the 2012 Legislative Symposium! Join legislative leaders across the country in this educational exchange to gain first-hand knowledge on state-level grassroots movements, lobbying efforts and coalition management.

Attendees will participate in, lobbying training and exercises, learning how the legislative process works and exchange legislative success stories. Network with fellow politically active members of the interior design industry and learn the keys to successful lobbying from your colleagues that have been through the process.

Click here to see the schedule at a glance for 2012!
http://www.asid.org/legislation/ASID+Legislative+Symposium+2012.htm

Click on the map below to find out more about what interior design legislation is active in your state!
http://www.asid.org/legislation/state_info/

Meanwhile, for example, Oregon's major city and metropolitan mass transit agency is shutting down main bus lines to its downtown center, restricting basic services, and jacking up fares....

Maybe some master commercial interior design legislative consultant could tell us which is best: Chicken or Duck feathers, with tar?

Remember, when unlicensed interior designers are outlawed....only outlaws will have unlicensed interior designers!