Amends existing law to provide for certified interior designers to be able to sign and seal certain technical submissions and to make such submissions to state or local governmental entities.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 790 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO ARCHITECTS; AMENDING SECTION 54-306, IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH2 AN EXEMPTION TO ALLOW THE FILING OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL SUBMISSIONS; AND3 DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.4

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5

SECTION 1. That Section 54-306, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby6 amended to read as follows:7 54-306. EXEMPTIONS. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held or8 construed to have any application to, or to prevent or affect, the following:9 (1) The practice of engineering or any other profession or trade for10 which a license is required under any law of this state, or the practice11 of consultants, officers and employees of the United States while engaged12 solely in the practice of architecture for said government.13 (2) Draftsmen, students, clerks of work, project representatives and14 others working under the supervision of those lawfully practicing as archi-15 tects under the provisions of this chapter from acting under the instruc-16 tion, control or supervision of their supervisors, or to prevent the employ-17 ment of clerks of work or inspectors of buildings paid by the owners from act-18 ing, if under the control or direction of a licensed architect who has pre-19 pared the drawings and specifications for the building.20 (3) The rendering of any architectural service required in the erec-21 tion, enlargement, alteration or repair of any building, where the building22 is to be or is used as a single or multiple family residence not exceeding23 three (3) units or three (3) stories in height; or as a farm building; or for24 the purpose of outbuildings or auxiliary buildings in connection with the25 residential or farm premises.26 (4) The rendering of any architectural service required in the erec-27 tion, enlargement, alteration or repair of any building that does not in-28 volve the public health or safety.29 (5) The preparation of shop drawings by persons other than architects30 for use in connection with the execution of their work; or the preparation of31 drawings of fixtures or other appliances or equipment, or for any work neces-32 sary to provide for their installation.33 (6) Expert consultation rendered to an architect by a consultant,34 whether licensed or not, employed by the architect to consult, advise and35 assist as long as the architect approves, adopts and is responsible for the36 results of the consultation, advice and assistance.37 (7) An intern working under the supervision of a licensed architect,38 including the use of the title "architectural intern," as may be established39 and limited by board rule.40 (8) A certified interior designer signing and sealing a technical sub-41 mission covering the scope of certified interior design. Certified interior42

2 designers shall have the authority to submit such a technical submission to1 a state or local governmental entity for the purpose of obtaining any requi-2 site permit for an interior alteration or construction project. A local gov-3 ernment shall process such filings in the same manner as it would if such fil-4 ings were submitted by an architect.5 (a) Certified interior designers shall not be engaged in the construc-6 tion of:7 (i) Services that constitute the practice of professional en-8 gineering or architecture, except as otherwise provided in this9 chapter;10 (ii) Modifications or additions to a building envelope, includ-11 ing exterior walls, exterior wall claddings, exterior wall open-12 ings, exterior windows and doors, balconies and similar projec-13 tions, roof assemblies and rooftop structures, and glass and glaz-14 ing for exterior use in both vertical and sloped applications in15 buildings and structures;16 (iii) Changes of building use to occupancies not already allowed17 by the current building or structure or changes of building use to18 occupancies of a greater hazard;19 (iv) Modifications or additions to the construction classifi-20 cation of a building or structure according to the international21 building code;22 (v) Modifications or additions to the structural system of23 a building, including changing the building's dead load on the24 structural system;25 (vi) Material changes to the mechanical, plumbing, heating, air26 conditioning, ventilation, electrical, low voltage, elevators27 and conveying, fire protection, or fire alarm systems;28 (vii) Design of or modifications to an exit stair or exit dis-29 charge portion of a means of egress system; or30 (viii) Construction that materially affects life safety systems31 pertaining to fire safety of structural elements or the fire pro-32 tection of structural elements, smoke evacuation and compartmen-33 talization systems, or fire-rated vertical shafts in multi-story34 structures.35 (b) A certified interior designer shall, as a condition of filing tech-36 nical submissions for the purpose of obtaining approval for a building37 permit, provide to the responsible building official of the jurisdic-38 tion proof of the interior designer's professional liability insurance39 coverage that is in force.40 (c) As used in this subsection, "certified interior designer" means a41 person who:42 (i) Holds an active certified interior designer certification43 from the board. Such certification shall require that the inte-44 rior designer:45 1. Has met the education and experience requirements of, and46 has subsequently passed, the qualification examination pro-47 mulgated by the council for interior design qualification or48 its successor organization; and49

3 2. Maintains active certification with the council for in-1 terior design qualification or its successor organization;2 and3 (ii) Engages in:4 1. Consultation, study, design analysis, drawing, space5 planning, and specification for nonstructural or nonseismic6 interior construction and alteration projects in compliance7 with applicable building design and construction acces-8 sibility, fire, life safety, and energy codes, standards,9 regulations, and guidelines;10 2. Preparing and submitting technical submissions for11 the purpose of obtaining approval for a building permit as12 provided by law for nonstructural or nonseismic interior13 construction, materials, finishes, space planning, fur-14 nishings, fixtures, equipment, lighting, and reflected15 ceiling plans;16 3. Designing for fabrication nonstructural elements within17 and surrounding interior spaces of buildings;18 4. Administration of design construction and contract docu-19 ments, as the clients' agent, relating to the functions de-20 scribed in this subparagraph, and collaboration with spe-21 cialty consultants and licensed practitioners in other ar-22 eas of technical expertise; or23 5. Creation or alteration of paths of egress.24 (d) As used in this subsection, "nonstructural or nonseismic" means in-25 terior elements or components that are not load-bearing, do not assist26 in the seismic design, and do not require structural computations for27 a building. Common nonstructural or nonseismic elements or components28 include ceiling and partition systems that employ normal and typical29 bracing conventions and are not part of the structural integrity of the30 building.31 (e) The board is authorized to promulgate rules, subject to legislative32 approval, only for the administration of the interior design certifica-33 tion provided pursuant to this subsection. Nothing in this subsection34 authorizes the board to promulgate rules relating to licensure.35 (f) The interior design certification provided for pursuant to this36 subsection shall not be required for interior designers who do not37 engage in the practice of signing, sealing, and submitting technical38 submissions as described in this subsection.39

SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby40 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after41 July 1, 2026.42