Interior Design Bill

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The\ninterior design organizations, IIDA and ASID, waged an effective multi-year\ngrassroots lobbying campaign in support of the legislation. It began by\nbuilding positive relationships between interior designers and key legislators.\n\n\nThe lead sponsors of the bill were some of the strongest deregulation advocates\nin the Wisconsin Legislature. It garnered bipartisan support from legislators\nwho thought it would create job opportunities for their constituents. It was\nsold as an initiative that would streamline the state\u0027s regulatory process,\nsupport women-owned small businesses, and save interior design clients time and\nmoney because an architect\u0027s stamp would no longer be required on plans for\ncommercial interior projects. \n\nCompanion bills were introduced in both houses last summer \u2013 Assembly Bill 324\nand Senate Bill 303. AIA Wisconsin, with the help of the AIA and NCARB,\ngathered information on what was happening in other states and began building a\ncoalition of contractor, consulting engineer and fire protection organizations\nto fight the bill.\n\nAIA Wisconsin leaders testified against the bill at a Senate committee hearing\nin September. With four of the five committee members signed on as sponsors of\nthe bill, we knew the cards were stacked against us. After an amendment was\noffered that removed the objections of the consulting engineers and fire\nprotection coalition, the Wisconsin Senate approved the bill on a voice vote in\nlate January.\n\nAfter being assured that the Assembly committee would not hold a hearing on the\nbill, effectively killing it, AIA Wisconsin learned that public notice\nrequirements had been waived and a last-minute committee hearing on the bill\nwas scheduled for the following morning. As luck would have it, we got the\nunexpected news as AIA Wisconsin leaders from across the state were preparing\nfor meetings with state legislators as part of our annual State Capitol Day. We\nhad over 25 meetings that afternoon, and several State Representatives on both\nsides of the aisle stepped up to be champions for our position and talked with\ntheir colleagues on the Assembly committee about the serious problems with the\nbill.\n\nThe Assembly committee hearing on February 13 followed an executive session to\nrecommend passage of legislation to extend bar hours statewide during the\nDemocratic National Convention in Milwaukee. The hearing went well, with more\narchitects testifying than interior designers. AIA Wisconsin members did a\ngreat job telling their stories and sharing their passion for architecture\nwhile outlining their serious concerns with the bill. Committee members asked a\nlot of good questions, with most of the tough ones directed at the interior\ndesigners."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Members\nfrom across the state showed up at the hearing to testify on behalf of AIA\nWisconsin or to register in opposition to the bill. AIA Wisconsin members\ntestifying included: Melinda Pogwizd, AIA, Katherine May, AIA, Laurie Whitney,\nAIA, Brad Peterson, Assoc. AIA, Andy Malanowski, AIA, Stacey Keller, AIA, and\nMatthew Wiedenhoeft, AIA.\n\n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"At\nthe same time, AIA Wisconsin collaborated with national AIA on an updated\nAction Alert to make it easy for members to contact their own State\nRepresentative one more time. This all helped to slow the momentum behind the\nbill. AIA Wisconsin was successful in staying in contact with Assembly\nleadership to make sure the bill wasn\u0027t pulled from committee for a floor vote\nthe following week.\n\nWe\u0027ve learned some valuable lessons along the way. We expect the interior\ndesign bill to be introduced again next session."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n"]]]]}