AB1796 - Licensed Professional Interior Designer Practice Act.

Amended IN Senate June 23, 2026 Amended IN Assembly April 16, 2026 Amended IN Assembly April 13, 2026 Amended IN Assembly March 27, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1796 Introduced by Assembly Member Jackson (Coauthor: (Coauthors: Assembly Member Macedo) Members Haney, Hart, Macedo, and Zbur) February 10, 2026 An act to amend Sections 5510, 5510.1, 5514, 5515, 5515.5, 5526, 5528, 5601, 5602, 5801, 5801.1, and 5811.1 of, to add Section 5811.2 to, and to add Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section 5700) to Division 3 of, the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Section 8014 of the Civil Code, relating to professions and vocations. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1796, as amended, Jackson. Licensed Professional Interior Designer Practice Act. Existing law, until January 1, 2027, establishes a scheme for the certification of interior designers by the California Council for Interior Design Certification, a nonprofit organization, by obtaining a stamp from the council that identifies them as a certified interior designer, and makes it an unfair business practice for any person to represent or hold themselves out as a certified interior designer without a valid certification. Existing law also authorizes the council to issue a commercial designation to a person who satisfies specified requirements. Under the existing scheme, a certification under those provisions expires in 2 years unless renewed in a specified manner. Existing law, the Architects Practice Act, establishes the California Architects Board, consisting of 10 members, in the Department of Consumer Affairs to license and regulate the practice of architecture. This bill would authorize the council to issue a professional designation to a certified interior designer or qualified applicant only until ____, 2027, and would instead provide for the licensure and regulation of the practice of licensed professional interior design, as defined, by the board. The bill would add a member to the board who is a professional interior designer, and would specify that the professional interior designer member’s term begins and expires on unspecified dates. The This bill would require the board to determine eligibility requirements, including examination and education requirements necessary for licensure. licensure, as provided. The bill would authorize the board to determine whether additional education or training is required for professional interior designers to identify when architectural or engineering services are required and, if so, would require the board to develop and prescribe sufficient education or training. The bill would make it a misdemeanor, punishable by an unspecified fee or by imprisonment in a county jail, or both, to engage impose an unspecified civil penalty for engaging in certain acts, including engaging in the practice of licensed professional interior design design, without a license. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The This bill would exempt professional engineers, architects, land surveyors, and licensed contractors from the bill’s provisions governing professional interior design. The bill would require any stamp used by a licensed professional interior designer to be of a design authorized by the board and would prescribe the information contained in the stamp. The bill would establish requirements for professional interior instruments of service, as defined, and would prohibit a public entity from accepting professional interior instruments of service submissions from an individual who is not a licensed professional interior designer. By imposing requirements on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The This bill would prescribe acts that are subject to discipline by the board and the manner of discipline, and would specify conditions of renewal and expiration of a license. The bill would require the board to fix certain fees relating to licensure at specified and unspecified amounts, to be deposited into the California Professional Interior Designer Fund, established by the bill, to be made available to the board upon appropriation by the Legislature to be used to defray the expenses of the board in carrying out and enforcing the provisions of the bill. The bill would require the board to implement its provisions by July 1, 2028. The bill would make other related and conforming changes to the Architects Practice Act and the provisions governing interior designers. Existing law allows a design professional, as defined, to claim a lien on certain works of improvement, as specified. This bill would include licensed interior designers in the definition of “design professional” for purposes of the above-referenced lien provisions. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) In California there are roughly 7.5 billion 7,500,000,000 square feet of existing professional buildings. (2) More than 100,000,000 square feet of professional buildings are newly constructed across California California, and this does not account for the remodeling of existing space, which sometimes only needs a designer. (3) The number of individuals who utilize professional buildings is significant, but difficult to approximate. In 2023, California had 18,400,000 employed people, the highest in the United States. About 88 percent of employed Californians, or roughly 16,200,000 people, work onsite, occupying professional space on a daily basis. This number does not capture those Californians who visit or pass through professional buildings to conduct tasks or business. (4) Professional space includes, but is not limited to, hospitals, schools, college campuses, museums, retail stores, and airport terminals. (5) Thirty-one jurisdictions across the nation regulate the profession of interior design, including 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. (6) The Legislature recognizes that acceptable overlap between licensed design professions occurs through coordinated practice within defined scope boundaries, consistent with nationally recognized professional standards governing architecture, engineering, and interior design professions. (b) Given the quantity and scope of professional interior design space in California, the regulation of professional interior designers would ensure a reliable standard of practice, directly benefiting and protecting many Californians who work, study, visit, and convalesce in these spaces. SEC. 2. Section 5510 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5510. There is in the Department of Consumer Affairs a California Architects Board, which consists of 11 members. Any reference in law to the California Board of Architectural Examiners shall mean the California Architects Board. This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed. Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature. SEC. 3. Section 5510.1 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5510.1. The Legislature finds and declares that it is the mandate of the board to regulate the practice of architects and licensed professional interior designers in the interest and for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. For this purpose, the board shall delineate the minimum professional qualifications and performance standards for admission to and practice of the profession of architecture pursuant to this chapter and licensed professional interior designers pursuant to the Licensed Professional Interior Designer Practice Act (Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section 5700)). The board shall establish a fair and uniform enforcement policy to deter and prosecute violations of this chapter or any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter to provide for the protection of the consumer. SEC. 4. Section 5514 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5514. (a) The membership of the board shall be composed of 11 members, five 5 of whom shall be architects, one 1 of whom shall be a professional interior designer, and five 5 of whom shall be public members. (b) The five architect members of the board shall be selected from architects in good standing who have been licensed and in practice in this state for at least five years at the time of appointment, all of whom shall be residents and in practice in California. (c) The public members of the board shall not be licensees of the board. (d) The first appointed professional interior designer member of the board shall have had an active National Council for Interior Design Qualification Certification for at least five years at the time of appointment, and shall be a resident and in practice in California. After licensure for professional interior designers is established, the one professional interior designer member of the board shall have been in good standing, licensed, a resident, and in practice in California for at least five years at the time of appointment. SEC. 5. Section 5515 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5515. (a) Every person appointed shall serve for four years and until the appointment and qualification of their successor or until one year has elapsed since the expiration of the term for which they were appointed, whichever occurs first. (b) No person shall serve as a member of the board for more than two consecutive terms. (c) Vacancies occurring before the expiration of the term shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. (d) Each appointment shall expire on June 30 of the fourth year following the year in which the previous term expired. (e) The Governor shall appoint three of the public members and the six licensed members qualified as provided in Section 5514. The Senate Rules Committee and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint a public member. SEC. 6. Section 5515.5 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5515.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 130 or 5515, the following provisions shall apply: (1) Of the three licensed architects appointed by the Governor whose terms commence on July 1, 2013, the term of two members shall expire on June 30, 2017, and the term of one member shall expire on June 30, 2019. (2) Of the two licensed architects appointed by the Governor whose terms commence on July 1, 2014, the term of one member shall expire on June 30, 2018, and the term of the other member shall expire on June 30, 2020. (3) The term of the public member appointed by the Governor that commences on July 1, 2014, shall expire on June 30, 2019. (4) Of the two public members appointed by the Governor whose terms commence on July 1, 2016, the term of one member shall expire on June 30, 2020, and the term of the other member shall expire on June 30, 2021. (5) The term of the licensed professional interior designer appointed by the Governor that commences on July 1, ____, shall expire on June 30, ____. (b) Except as provided in subdivision (a), this section shall not be construed to affect the application of Section 130 or 5515 to the terms of a current or future member of the board. SEC. 7. Section 5526 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5526. (a) The board shall adopt rules and regulations governing the examination of applicants for licenses to practice architecture and licensed professional interior design in this state. (b) The board may, by rule or regulation, adopt rules of professional conduct that are not inconsistent with state or federal law. Every person who holds a license issued by the board shall be governed and controlled by these rules. (c) The board may adopt other rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper. (d) The board may, from time to time, repeal, amend, or modify rules and regulations adopted under this section. No rule or regulation shall be inconsistent with this chapter. (e) The board shall adopt, by regulation, a system as described in Section 125.9 for the issuance to a licensee of a citation and a system as described in Section 148 for the issuance of an administrative citation to an unlicensed person who is acting in the capacity of a licensee or registrant under the jurisdiction of the board. (f) The adoption, repeal, amendment, or modification of these rules and regulations shall be made in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. SEC. 8. Section 5528 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5528. (a) The board may select and contract with necessary architect and professional interior design consultants who are licensed to assist it in its enforcement program on an intermittent basis. The architect and professional interior design consultants shall perform only those services that are necessary to carry out and enforce this chapter. (b) For the purposes of Division 3.6 (commencing with Section 810) of Title 1 of the Government Code, any consultant under contract with the board shall be considered a public employee. SEC. 9. Section 5601 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 5601. (a) Within 10 days after the beginning of every month, all fees collected by the department for the month preceding, under the provisions of this chapter, shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the California Architects Board Fund. (b) The board may create subaccounts within the California Architects Board Fund, as needed, for the purpose of ensuring that moneys within the fund are equitably apportioned among the architect and professional interior design professions and do not exceed the reasonable regulatory costs of the board pursuant to this chapter and Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section 5700). SEC. 10. Sectio [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]