SB 73-REGISTER INTERIOR DESIGNERS  2:28:08 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 73 "An Act relating to registered interior designers and interior design; establishing requirements for the practice of registered interior design; renaming the State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors the State Board of Registration for Design Professionals; relating to the State Board of Registration for Design Professionals; relating to liens for labor or materials furnished; relating to the procurement of interior design services; and providing for an effective date." He stated that this is the second hearing of this bill and Breanna Kakaruk will present a recap of the bill. 2:28:42 PM BREANNA KAKARUK, Staff, Senator Matt Claman, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, stated that the proposed committee substitute (CS) for SB 73, version U, incorporates the changes the American Society of Interior Designers and the American Institute of Architects Working Group requested following collaborative meetings. 2:29:41 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN requested a motion to adopt the CS for SB 73 as the working document. 2:29:50 PM SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON moved to adopt the committee substitute (CS) for SB 73, work order 33-LS0244\U, as the working document. CHAIR BJORKMAN objected for purposes of discussion. He asked Ms. Kakaruk to continue with the summary of changes. 2:30:08 PM MS. KAKARUK presented the following summary of changes from version S to version U for SB 73. Senate Bill 73  Summary of Changes  Version S to Version U  The legislation was amended to include changes requested by the American Society of Interior Designers and the American Institute of Architects Working Group. The Working Group was formed for collaborative work between interior designers and architects on Senate Bill 73. During the last Working Group meeting, the architects and interior designers came to a consensus agreement on amendments for Senate Bill 73. Version U of Senate Bill 73 incorporates these as agreed upon by the Working Group. All language related to changing the name from the "State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors" (AELS) to the "State Board of Registration for Design Professionals" were removed. Senate Bill 73 will no longer change the name of the board. Transitional language was added to include a voting board member seat for an interior designer on the AELS Board for the period before the legislation's registration requirement is implemented. The interior designer board member must be an Alaska resident for at least 3 years immediately preceding their appointment, and they must be certified by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ). The word "registered" was included before "interior design" and "interior designer" for specificity throughout the bill, with a few exceptions. Restrictions that limited the scope of practice of interior designers were removed for services that do not change or affect the structural system or the safety of the building, or that do not affect public health, safety, or welfare. New definitions of the practice of registered interior design were aligned to existing definitions of other professional design disciplines. 2:31:46 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN maintained his objection to give members time to review the committee substitute. 2:32:13 PM At ease. 2:33:30 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and opened public testimony on SB 73. 2:34:04 PM JESSICA CEDERBERG, President-elect, American Institute of Architects (AIA) Alaska Chapter, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in opposition to SB 73. She stated that the 200 members of AIA Alaska Chapter are joined by AIA National in opposing SB 73 and its companion bill, HB 159. AIA needs more time to review the CS. 2:35:41 PM ELIZABETH JOHNSTON, representing self, Fairbanks, Alaska, gave testimony on SB 73. She is a member of the AIA board but is speaking for herself on this bill. She spoke specifically about the change to AS 08.48.011(b) that adds one interior designer to the board, but no longer separates the electrical and mechanical engineering board seats. She expressed her concern that this would result in an underrepresentation of both mechanical and electrical engineers. 2:37:36 PM SENATOR DUNBAR asked if she said that the board member seats would be reduced by one or two. MS. JOHNSTON replied that the existing statute, AS 08.48.011(b), describes an 11-member board that includes one electrical or mechanical engineer, but it does not have a registered interior designer. SB 73, version S, initially proposed increasing the board from 11 to 13 members to include one electrical engineer, one mechanical engineer, and one registered interior designer. The board, under the proposed CS version U, would be composed of 12 members, including one electrical or mechanical engineer, and one interior designer. SENATOR DUNBAR thanked her for the explanation. 2:39:08 PM DANA NUNN, representing the American Society of Interior Designers, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB 73, as amended. She spoke to the legislative process, stating this bill has not been rushed. It began in 2017 and there have been two bills before this with ample opportunity for collaboration. It is only recently that the Society has been able to get a foothold in the collaboration. She expressed excitement about the legislative advancements. 2:41:22 PM MATT BARUSCH, Director, Government Affairs, Council for Interior Design Qualification (CIDQ), Washington, D.C., testified in support of SB 73. He said that CIDQ administers the three-part NCIDQ examination which would be the prerequisite exam for registered interior designers in the state of Alaska. The council supports this bill because of the legal recognition of interior designers and design professionals. 2:42:11 PM CATHERINE FRITZ, Chair, Alaska Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers, and Land Surveyors (AELS), gave testimony on SB 73, requesting more time to deliberate on the proposed CS. She said the board just received the CS and has not had time to review it. She did a personal scan of the committee substitute and of the six issues of concern that AELS brought up to the legislature, and all still exist. She said if granted more time to allow for public notice as per the Open Meetings Act, she can schedule a special board meeting to discuss the issues. 2:44:05 PM RAMONA SCHIMSCHEIMER, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, gave testimony on SB 73 as a working architect. She requested that the committee postpone approving the bill with the new amendment, as the AIA Working Group has not had enough time to go through the entire document and discuss each item. 2:45:16 PM PAUL BARIL, representing self, Anchorage, Alaska, requested time to review the committee substitute for SB 73. He said he is the principal architect and owner at Nvision Architecture and an AIA Working Group member who has been collaborating with the interior designer's group. He expressed the need for more time to collaborate with the AIA Working Group and discuss necessary amendments. 2:46:30 PM SENATOR DUNBAR asked how much time is needed to review the committee substitute. MR. BARIL replied one to two weeks is needed. 2:47:55 PM RYAN MORSE, representing the AIA Alaska component of the Working Group, Fairbanks, Alaska, testified in opposition to SB 73 as it is currently written. He qualified his testimony by stating that he was the past president of the AIA Alaska Chapter and a current strategic council member of the AIA National Chapter representing Alaska and the Mariana Islands. Both the chapter locally and the organization as a whole represent over 90,000 architects and they oppose this bill as currently written. He pointed out that the introduction and reading of amendments was not accurate. In Section 28, the definition did not change from the prior version as it was not updated to match the board- approved amendment. This was one of many examples of the discrepancies. He warned against rushing the process of passing this legislation. Progress has been made, but more time is needed to craft this bill. 2:51:43 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN asked how long interior designers and their group have been in talks with AIA Alaska. MR. MORSE replied that it has been going on for some years in Alaska, and this is not the first legislative cycle where bills like this were introduced. He has been involved in the process since 2020 to craft a mutually agreeable bill. 2:53:03 PM SENATOR DUNBAR asked whether AIA or other affiliates in other states have come to a mutual agreement with interior designers. MR. MORSE replied absolutely yes. He said that North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Illinois are three examples that the AIA Working Group reviewed that have passed bills that resulted from AIA groups and interior designers working in collaboration. These bills have commonalities that help set a standard, but this bill is not at that point. Once it is there, he wants to go back to his group and get approval. He wants to steer this bill to get those results. 2:55:02 PM CHAIR BJORKMAN kept public testimony open and held SB 73 in committee.