TeNnASIDy - (n) The Courage to Design TN.

 

Grass roots: Society at the local level. Grassroots activity occurs when people who share a common interest or goal band together to participate in the political process. TIDC’s grassroots began in 1989.

 

Watchdog: A person or group who guards against waste, loss, or legal practices. Every interior design coalition and association needs at least one watchdog to keep an eye on proposed legislation that may adversely affect interior designers. TIDC continues to be the watchdog for interior designers in the state of Tennessee.

 

Coalition: A temporary alliance for combined political action. When interior designers speak with one unified voice they are more likely to be heard. The TIDC Charter was filed in November 1990.

 

Tennessee Interior Design Coalition: TIDC is a coalition of interior design associations and individuals committed to promoting the highest standard of practice in the interior design profession in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public; and to promote the common business interests and professional welfare of all persons and entities engaged in the profession of interior design.

 

Lobbyist: A person who voluntarily, or for a fee, represents himself or herself, any individual, organization, corporation or entity before the Legislature. They also know how the government works, inside and out. A good lobbyist is vital to successful interior design legislation. TIDC’s primary lobbyist is Don Baltimore.

 

Sponsor: A legislator who proposes and urges adoption of a bill. Choosing the right Representative/Senator to help push an interior design bill through the Legislature is essential for a positive vote. Our current sponsors for 2009-2010 are Senator Ketron and Representative Sontany; co-sponsors are Representative Haynes, Representative Harwell, and Representative Windle.

PAC: A Political Action Committee is formed by a special-interest group to raise money and make contributions to the campaigns of political candidates whom support their cause. This is the way organizations support their sponsors. Every interior design coalition should have a PAC. Only individuals or non-corporate entities (partnerships & sole proprietors) may donate to a PAC. Most contributions are tax deductible. TIDC’s political action committee is known as TIDPAC.

 

Title Act: A title act prohibits anyone not certified or registered by the state from representing or identifying himself or herself as a “Certified, Licensed, or Registered Interior Designer”. A title act does not prohibit professional practice or professional services by interior designers. A title act does not prohibit anyone from calling themselves an interior designer. Tennessee’s current title act was passed in 1991.

 

Practice Act: A practice act prohibits actual practice or performance of professional services by anyone not licensed by the state. The current Tennessee law requires licensing for individuals who practice architecture, landscape architecture, civil/structural/mechanical/electrical engineering. The proposed Tennessee interior design practice act would require licensing only for interior designers who wish to provide non-structural interior construction documents for Assembly, Education, and Institutional Occupancies of any size, and Business and Mercantile Occupancies larger than 5,000 square feet or in buildings taller than 3-stories. Interior decorative services for these occupancies will remain the same as in the present law. Designers and decorators will be able to continue providing the exact same services they currently provide.