Judge strikes down Conn. interior designer law

HARTFORD, Conn. — A federal judge has struck down a Connecticut law that requires people calling themselves interior designers to get a license or face fines and possible prison time.

Tuesday’s ruling came after the Institute for Justice sued the state’s Department of Consumer Protection last September on behalf of three Connecticut residents, who said the law was elitist and an attempt to eliminate competition.

“The term ‘interior designer’ is a generic term that conveys no particular educational or experiential credentials on the part of an individual,” Judge Mark R. Kravitz wrote. He said the existing statute violated the Constitution’s 1st and 14th Amendments and banned the state from enforcing the law, first passed in 1983.

State officials did not immediately return calls for comment.

Connecticut law said that nobody could call themselves an interior designer without getting a state license that cost $150 a year. Violators could be fined up to $500 and could be put in prison for up to one year.

Unlicensed interior designers may operate legally in the state only if they refer to themselves by another term, such as “interior decorator.”

Many states regulate the interior design industry, although none have a law as restrictive as Connecticut’s. Twenty-four states have laws specifying who can call themselves a “certified” or “registered” interior designer, or who can practice the trade without getting state approval or certification, according to the American Society of Interior Designers.

The institute has fought similar measures in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida. It has also sought to eliminate occupational licensing requirements for florists in Louisiana, African hair-braiding in California and massaging horses in Maryland.

Alexandria Lanuk, a past president and spokeswoman for the Connecticut Coalition of Interior Designers, said her group would continue to make sure some type of title rules stayed in place.

“Regardless of the court’s ruling, the Connecticut Coalition of Interior Designers strongly believes that there are skill sets and education levels that significantly differentiate practicing designers and interior decorators,” she said. “We believe it is the best interest of the public to be aware of whom they are hiring, and their level of training, just as they would about any other profession.”

Cynthia Hernandez of Farmington, Conn. disagrees. She was one of the three plaintiffs, and she has been doing residential and commercial interior design for the past five years.

“To have someone say I can’t use the title because to be unregistered is to be uneducated is absurd,” said Hernandez, who said she has an MBA from the University of Connecticut and has taken interior design courses.

“I’m thrilled to be able to say what I do,” she added. “I am an interior designer.”

(This version CORRECTS overline to say license is required to use interior designer title, sted be an interior designer.)