SENATE BILL NO. 54 "An Act relating to registered interior designers and interior design; extending the termination date of the State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors; relating to the State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors; establishing requirements for the practice of registered interior design; relating to the practice of architecture, engineering, land surveying, landscape architecture, and registered interior design by partnerships; relating to liens for labor or materials furnished; relating to the procurement of landscape architectural and interior design services; and providing for an effective date." 9:11:48 AM SENATOR MATT CLAMAN, SPONSOR, introduced the bill. He read from prepared remarks: Senate Bill 54 will extend the statutory authorization for the Board of Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS Board), add Registered Interior Designers to the board's jurisdiction, and make statutory changes requested by the board. This bill will allow the AELS Board to continue the important work of regulating design professionals in Alaska and add a qualified interior designer to the board. The 2024 Sunset Audit of the AELS Board concluded that the board served the public's interest and recommended that we extend it for eight years. In this bill, the AELS Board is taking the opportunity to update outdated language based on their analysis since the last sunset audit. Another important part of SB 54 is the opportunity for qualified interior designers to register with the AELS Board. Those wishing to practice registered interior design in buildings of public occupancy within a regulated scope of services impacting public health, safety, or welfare will now have a pathway to registration. SB 54 will allow designers practicing in public occupancy buildings to be qualified to do so, providing another measure of public safety protection and risk-mitigation for commercial buildings. It will increase the amount of design professionals able to work independently within the commercial real estate industry. The National Council of Interior Design Qualifications (NCIDQ) Exam is a three-part, 11-hour examination that was established to identify interior design professionals with the skills and experience to take on additional responsibility. This test is designed to assess the competency of candidates to protect the public through the practice of interior design, and covers subjects such as fire safety, ADA compliance, emergency egress, and material flammability. A candidate unable to prove their understanding of life safety, codes, and standards would be unlikely to pass the exam. The goal is not to measure Interior Designers by the standards used by architects. While there are shared skillsets between architects and interior designers, interior designers focus on a narrower scope of work. By comparison, there are different licensing requirements for nurse practitioners and doctors, even though they sometimes perform similar activities. Currently, there is no state licensing of the interior design profession in Alaska. One consequence of this licensing gap is that Registered Interior designers do not have access to a construction stamp that would allow them to submit their work for permitting. Passage of SB 54 will allow Alaska to join other forward-looking states in providing a construction document stamp to allow registered interior designers to submit their own work for permitting. SB 54 does not restrict the requirements or daily practice for any other professional in design or construction including architects, engineers, contractors, trades people, decorators, or residential designers. SB 54 is intended to be cost neutral to the State, as it is self-funded within the AELS Registration Board through application, registration, and renewal fees. As shown in the attached fiscal note, the passage of this bill would enable the AELS Registration Board to hire a much-needed additional Occupational Licensee Examiner, and the cost per licensee would only be an additional $50 every two years. We often talk of making Alaska open and ready for business. This bill turns those words into action and will make Alaska a better place to do business. Please join me in supporting SB 54. 9:16:00 AM SARENA HACKENMILLER, STAFF, SENATOR MATT CLAMAN, addressed a Sectional Analysis (copy on file): Section 1 AS 08.03.010. Termination dates for regulatory boards. Extends the AELS Board's termination date by eight years to June 30, 2033. Section 2 AS 08.48.011(b). Board created. Adds two seats to the AELS board: one for an interior designer and one additional engineering seat. This addition creates separate seats for electrical and mechanical engineering, which currently share a seat. It also modifies the seat held by a mining engineer to include the option of either a mining engineer, or a petroleum engineer, or a chemical engineer. Section 3 AS 08.48.011(b). Board created. This section affects the same statutes as Sec. 2. The interior designer sitting on the board must be registered once this act and board regulations go into place per Sec. 37. Section 4 AS 08.48.055(b). Executive administrator of the board; investigator. Amends to add to statute a Range 23 salary for the AELS Board's Executive Administrator. Section 5 AS 08.48.071(f). Records and reports. Adds registered interior designers to the list of professions about which the department shall assemble statistics relating to staff and board performance. Section 6 AS 08.48.101. Regulations; policy guidance; bylaws; code of ethics. Adds a new subsection (c) authorizing the board to adopt regulations establishing a definition of interior design for the purpose of this chapter and requires that the definition include non-loadbearing interior construction, space planning, finish materials, and furnishings. Section 7 AS 08.48.111. Power to revoke, suspend, or reissue certificate. Adds registered interior design to a list of professions that the board may suspend or refuse to renew, or whose certificate may be revoked, or who may be reprimanded if found guilty of fraud, gross negligence, incompetence, or misconduct in accordance with a code of ethics as adopted by the board. This section also removes the requirement that the code of ethics be distributed in writing to every registrant and applicant. Ms. Hackenmiller relayed that Section 8 through Section 12 were conforming changes. She continued to address the Sectional Analysis: Section 13 AS 08.48.215(a). Retired status registration. Distinguishes that retirement status under this chapter is available only for professional architects, engineers, land surveyors, or landscape architects. Section 14 AS 08.48.218. Untitled practice of interior design. Adds new section stating that unregistered individuals may practice interior design but shall refrain from using the title "registered interior designer." Ms. Hackenmiller relayed that Section 15 through Section 21 were conforming changes. She continued to address the Sectional Analysis: Section 22 AS 08.48.281. Prohibited practice. Adds a new subsection (c) specifying that a person that is not registered with the board may not use the title "registered interior designer." Section 23 AS 08.48.291. Violations and penalties. Specifies that a person who practices or offers to practice registered interior design in the state without being registered or authorized to practice is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both. Ms. Hackenmiller relayed that Section 22 through Section 25 were conforming changes. She continued with Section 26: Section 26 AS 08.48.321(b). Evidence of practice. Adds a new subsection (b) stating that using the title "registered interior designer" implies that the person is registered with the board. Section 27 AS 08.48.331. Exemptions. New paragraph (15) aligns AS 08.48 with Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) statutes allowing certain ADEC employees who are authorized to construct conventional onsite wastewater systems to do so without a professional license if the wastewater system has a design flow of less than 500 gallons of wastewater a day. Section 28 AS 08.48.331. Exemptions. In paragraph (11), adds the construction of natural gas pipelines to the conditions in which an employee or officer of a company operating in Alaska must have a professional license. Section 29 AS 08.48.331. Exemptions. Adds new subsection (c) allowing the Department of Environmental Conservation to adopt regulations limiting the locations in the state where exemption 15 may apply. Adds new subsection (d) defining the requirements that a utility company must meet to be exempted from having a professional license to operate under exemption 15. Section 30 AS 08.48.341(4). Definitions. Adds registered interior design to the definition of "certificate of authorization." Section 31 AS 08.48.341(23). Definitions. Distinguishes existing registrant types as "professional" and adds "registered interior designers" to the definition of "registrant." Ms. Hackenmiller relayed that Section 33 through Section 38 were conforming under other titles outside AS 08.48. She continued to address the Sectional Analysis: Section 39 AS 08.48.011. Board created. Subsection (c) is repealed. Subsection (c) is related to board seats which no longer apply due to Sections 2 and 3 of this bill. Ms. Hackenmiller specified that Section 40 and 41 established the effective date and grace period for registration of interior designers. She continued to address the Sectional Analysis: Section 42 Effective date Clarifies that Sections 28 and 29 take effect January 1, 2026. Section 43 Effective date Except as stated in Sections 41 and 42, this Act has an effective date of July 1, 2025. 9:21:38 AM Senator Kiehl asked Ms. Hackenmiller about a description of the items that were considered "interior design" under the bill. Ms. Hackenmiller identified that the definition of "registered interior design" and "registered interior designer" were in Section 32. Senator Kiehl relayed that Section 32 indicated it was the practice of interior design. He asked if there was a more specific definition. Senator Claman directed attention to Section 6 of the bill, where directions were given to the AELS board to define the scope of practice. Co-Chair Hoffman asked what the AELS Board signified. Senator Claman relayed that it was the Architects Engineers and Landscape Surveying Board, for which the bill extended authorization. 9:23:31 AM KRIS CURTIS, LEGISLATIVE AUDITOR, ALASKA DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AUDIT, directed attention to the "A Sunset Review of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (board)" (copy on file). She described the audit as "very clean" with no recommendations and with support for an eight-year extension. The audit found that the audit concluded that the board served the public's interest by conducting meetings in an effective manner; actively amending regulations to improve the registration process; and effectively registering architects, engineers, land surveyors, and landscape architects. Ms. Curtis directed attention to the report on page 6 on registration and certificate activity. As of January 2024, the board had 6,628 active registrants. The schedule of revenues and expenditures was on page 8, which indicated that there was a $1.2 million surplus as of January 2024. She noted that the commissioner and the board chair both concurred with the report's conclusions. 9:25:01 AM COLIN MAYNARD, ALASKA BOARD OF ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, AND LAND SURVEYORS, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), read from prepared testimony: For the record, my name is Colin Maynard, I am a retired Civil and Structural Engineer and am a member of the Alaska State Board of Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (or AELS). I am testifying at the direction of the Board as the Chair of the AELS Legislative Liaison Committee. At our February 2025 meeting, the AELS Board voted 7-2 to support this bill. I would like to address a few provisions which have financial impacts. First, I have to say that the Board is proud to see that the Legislative Audit found that the Board has been complying with the relevant statutes and regulations and is performing its duty to protect public safety, health, and welfare. We believe that an extension of eight years is warranted. Now to the financial issues: Section 2 Board makeup o Adding petroleum and chemical engineering disciplines to the mining engineering seat as an option, instead of a fallback position, expands the pool of possible volunteers from 36 to 148 while keeping the seat in the resource extraction industry. This does not add any cost. o Breaking the current mechanical/electrical engineering seat into two seats recognizes that they are the two most common disciplines after civil engineering, even more than architects or land surveyors, which have two seats each. It also recognizes that these disciplines are different from each other and expecting one person to have expertise in both is asking a bit much. o Adding an Interior designer seat will allow someone with expertise in that field to help craft regulations regarding that new discipline. o We understand that we are already one of the largest State licensing Boards, but we currently regulate eighteen different disciplines with more registrants than all but two Boards. Most of our meetings are done virtually and the cost of travel is minimal. The cost of the Board is borne by those registrants, not by the public. Section 4 Executive Administrator salary o The Board has been having problems retaining our Executive Administrator. The Board has been working with the Division and Department to get an Office of Management and Budget class evaluation for years. The fact that the position is a class of one has not made that very easy and it has dragged out for years. The evaluation finally started last fall, still has at least one more step to go, and may not have a conclusion with which the Board agrees. Before the evaluation started, the Board decided to request that our statute specify that the AELS Executive Administrator has a salary in Range 23. Other Boards that have a similar number of registrants have a similar provision. Most of the costs in the fiscal note are based on the addition of a licensing examiner, thereby expanding the Board's staff from three to four: an executive administrator, two licensing examiners, and an investigator. This is necessary due to the existing workload. The addition of interior designers will add about 1% to the number of registrants. The costs will be borne by the approximately 6700 active registrants and 800 Corporations and Limited Liability Companies. 9:28:23 AM MATT BARUSCH, GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND ADVOCACY COUNCIL FOR INTERIOR DESIGN QUALIFICATION (via teleconference), relayed that his organization administered the national interior design certification examination, which was regulated in 29 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. He explained that the interior design profession was regulated because of the direct impact the work had on the health, safety, and welfare of the public in public spaces. The bill adopted a framework consistent with a majority of states that regulated the profession. His organization supported that bill because it would help support public protection, and looked forward to supporting the AELS Board as it implemented the legislation. 9:29:26 AM Co-Chair Hoffman OPENED public testimony. 9:29:53 AM CASEY KEE, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support of the bill. She was an Anchorage resident and a NCIDQ-certified interior designer. 9:30:28 AM BARBARA CASH, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified in strong support of the bill. She was a long- time NCIDQ-qualified interior designer in Anchorage. She contended that the bill enabled registered Alaska designers for federal projects. 9:31:24 AM MELISSA TRIBYL, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support of the legislation. She was a certified interior designer with NCIDQ and owned an architectural firm. She thought the bill would expand services. 9:32:26 AM RAMONA SCHIMSCHEIMER, BOARD MEMBER, AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE ALASKA, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified in opposition to the bill. She was a licensed architect. She shared that the American Institute of Architecture (AIA) Alaska had worked with the sponsor to address concerns. 9:33:56 AM CATHERINE FRITZ, SELF, JUNEAU (via teleconference), testified in opposition to the bill. She had been an active member of the Alaska chapter of AIA. She had been registered as an architect since 1990. She had served on the AELS Board for eight years. She thought there were many aspects of the bill that would be difficult and confusing to administer. She opposed the expansion of the board to 13 members as proposed in the bill, and contended that the board was already the largest board with 11 members. She noted that prior to 2023, there was a restriction that had now allowed mechanical and electrical engineers to serve on the board simultaneously, which had been remedied by legislation. She contended that there were fewer than two dozen interior designers that were qualified to serve on the board. Ms. Fritz shared the concern that it was not appropriate to have a registered interior designer on the AELS Board because they would not be registered and regulated. She emphasized that SB 54 was a title act. She noted that a seat on the board would allow an interior designer authority and responsibility to act on the regulated practices of engineering and architecture, which she did not think was appropriate. She could not think of a reason to expand the board. She mentioned the addition of a landscape architect to the board as a temporary seat in 1998. If the bill passed, there would need to be a limited amount of regulation developed. She thought a temporary seat could add subject matter expertise if needed. 9:37:30 AM DANA NUNN, CHAIR, GOVERNMENT ADVOCACY COMMITTEE, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS, ALASKA CHAPTER, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support of the bill. She was a longtime Anchorage resident and an NCIDQ-certified interior designer. She thought SB 54 represented many years of collaborative efforts. She thought the bill remained true to the fundamental intent of improving public health, safety, and welfare while established means of registering qualified interior designers. She urged the committee to pass the bill. 9:39:06 AM ELIZABETH GOEBEL, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified in support of the bill. She relayed that she was an interior designer in Anchorage currently working on her NCIDQ certification. 9:39:31 AM LARRY CASH, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support of the bill. He relayed that he was an Alaskan architect and worked with qualified interior designers for many years. He supported interior designers' state registration with stamp and seal privileges as provided in the bill. 9:40:23 AM Co-Chair Hoffman CLOSED public testimony. Senator Kiehl addressed a new fiscal note from the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional Licensing, OMB Component 2360. He expanded that the fiscal note showed an increased FY 26 cost of $172,600 and one position, all in receipt-supported services. The fiscal note also reflected that $263,900 of Designated General Funds (DGF) was included in the governor's request. There was $401,700 in receipt support services and two positions from FY 27 going forward. Senator Claman thought the bill was a positive step forward for the state. SB 54 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration. 9:41:59 AM AT EASE 9:43:02 AM RECONVENED