LETTER: Occupational licensing can serve a vital purpose

In its editorial about licensing overkill (Dec. 11), the Review-Journal appears to have been misinformed about the difference between an interior designer/decorator and a registered interior designer. Anyone in Nevada can be an interior designer in the scope of residential interior design. There is no stopping anyone from pursuing a career or making a living designing interior residential spaces.

A registered interior designer, however, is licensed and insured. Only by virtue of this process is he or she allowed to work in commercial spaces. This involves the authority to submit and sign off on plans to the appropriate building department. It also encompasses the analysis, planning, design, documentation and management of interior construction and alteration projects (nonstructural/nonseismic), in compliance with applicable building design and construction, fire, life-safety and energy codes, standards and regulations.

There are 29 states in the United States that have some type of license requirement for commercial interior design. This has everything to do with the health, safety and welfare of the public. Especially in Nevada, where we have billion-dollar casino projects, it is absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of the millions of tourists who visit our state every year.

This editorial made light of these requirements and implied that this process was hurting Nevada’s workers. As noted above, anyone can work as a residential interior designer. But choosing an interior designer solely because they have a “flair for color” is like hiring an unlicensed dentist because they are someone who “likes teeth.”

Deregulating this profession and allowing anyone — regardless of education, experience and license status — to design Nevada commercial projects would have negative consequences to our state.