Advocacy Update: 2026 and beyond

Sign up your firm to be a stop on the Advocacy Roadshow:

The IIDA Oregon Chapter is launching a statewide Advocacy Roadshow—bringing education, clarity, and engagement directly to the firms and industry partners shaping Oregon’s built environment. This presentation offers a comprehensive overview of Interior Design advocacy fundamentals, Oregon’s legislative landscape, the history of interior design legislation, and our chapter’s strategy as we prepare for the next legislative cycle. We are fired up and ready to go!

Why Your Company Should Participate
Interior designers in Oregon play a critical role in the health, safety, and welfare of the public—yet our profession remains unrecognized in state regulatory frameworks. IIDA Oregon is deeply committed to  advancing a future where commercial interior designers can practice to the full extent of their education, experience, and technical expertise.
This Roadshow Will:
  • Educate your team on the current state of Interior Design legislation
  • Build support and partnership across disciplines
  • Listen to questions, concerns, and ideas from industry leaders

Your participation signals that Oregon’s design community stands united in advocating for a more equitable and future-ready built environment. We look forward to partnering with you in the work ahead.

Sign up today! 

Celebrating Advocacy in Action: A Turning Point for Advocacy in Oregon

At this year’s Design Excellence Awards, we proudly honored Representative Rob Nosse as IIDA Oregon’s inaugural Legislator of the Year—a recognition marking a powerful step forward for our advocacy efforts in the state.

Rep. Nosse has built his career championing workers’ rights and professional equity. His leadership in sponsoring House Bill 2141 in 2025 reflects his commitment to helping small businesses, women professionals, and creative practitioners fully thrive in Oregon.

As we look ahead, IIDA Oregon is equally proud to announce the hiring of Louis DeSitter of DeSitter Public Affairs as our lobbyist for interior design legislation. With nearly 16 years at the heart of Oregon politics, Louis brings deep expertise in both legislative strategy and grassroots organizing. His partnership will be pivotal as we continue advancing legal recognition for the interior design profession.

Together—with legislative champions like Rep. Nosse and strategic partners like Louis—we’re shaping a more equitable, recognized, and empowered future for Oregon’s design community.

Advocacy remains a cornerstone of our mission—2026 and beyond.

More Advocacy Updates from Across the US:

As built-environment professionals who have fought for professional recognition for many decades, IIDA Oregon strongly opposes any proposal or policy that fails to recognize architects, and other essential practitioners in the built environment as professionals under the Department of Education’s new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).

The Department’s narrow interpretation of which degrees qualify for federal loan support for graduate students excludes several rigorously trained and licensed professions—including architects, nurses, physical therapists, educators, and social workers—all of whom play critical roles in public health, safety, and welfare.

Failing to recognize these degrees as “professional” fundamentally misrepresents the intensive education, supervised experience, examination, and licensure processes required in our fields. It also restricts access to education, disproportionately impacting women, first-generation students, and emerging professionals. At a time when the cost of advanced degrees continues to rise, lowering loan caps does not reduce tuition, it simply reduces who can afford to enter these professions.

IIDA Oregon stands in solidarity with The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and numerous other national professional organizations in urging the Department of Education to correct this misclassification and ensure that all design, health, and human services professions are accurately recognized in federal policy. Now is the moment to stand together and ensure equitable access to education, licensure, and opportunity for the next generation of design leaders!

Southwest
The Southwest Chapter reflected on the anniversary of the 1980 MGM Grand fire, emphasizing that public Health, Safety, and Welfare remain the core of the Interior Design profession and highlighting the essential role qualified designers play in creating safe, code-compliant environments.

Pennsylvania
Following the passage of Senate Bill 1319, the chapter is collaborating with the state licensing board to implement the new Certified Interior Designer (CID) title and clarify requirements, while also expanding NCIDQ preparation and professional programming heading into 2026.

Colorado
The Rocky Mountain Chapter launched a new advocacy video underscoring that interior design is essential to public well-being, reinforcing the profession’s research-based, technical, and health-focused impact across Colorado communities. Watch the powerful video here!

Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Chapter is working with ASID to strengthen recently passed legislation by adding “professionally supervise” to support permitting authority, while also educating members on upcoming building code updates aligned with the 2021 International Building Code.

See more updates from IIDA’s advocacy efforts here.