Senate hears SB54 to extend AELS board, add registered interior designers and update board structure

State Senator Matt Klayman introduced Senate Bill 54 to the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee on Feb. 26 as a first hearing to extend and update the State Board of Registration for Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors (the AELS board), add registered interior designers to board jurisdiction and make conforming statutory changes.

The nut graf: SB54 would extend the board's statutory authorization, create a registration pathway for qualified interior designers working on public‑occupancy buildings, add board seats for certain engineering disciplines and make conforming changes across state law to integrate registered interior design into existing practice acts and permitting privileges.

Klayman summarized the bill's objectives: an eight‑year sunset extension recommended by the board's 2024 sunset audit; creating a seat for a registered interior designer and an additional engineering seat (splitting electrical and mechanical engineering into two seats); and allowing registered interior designers who pass the NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification) exam to submit construction documents for permitting where the designer meets the statutory scope of practice. Klayman said the bill is intended to be cost neutral, funded by registration and renewal fees, and would allow the AELS board to hire an additional occupational license examiner at an estimated additional cost to licensees of about $50 every two years (fiscal note cited by sponsor).

Legislative auditor Chris Curtis testified the board is "operating in the public's interest" and recommended the maximum eight‑year extension after an audit that found 6,628 active registrants as of January 2024 and a roughly $1.2 million surplus on the board's schedule of revenues and expenditures.

Public and professional testimony: Colin Maynard, retired civil and structural engineer and chair of the AELS legislative liaison committee, testified the board voted to support the bill and recommended narrowing industry exemptions proposed in section 26 so that natural gas distribution systems that pose a threat to public safety require stamped engineered drawings; he traced that request to a 2018 pipeline incident and subsequent NTSB letters asking states to remove certain industrial exemptions. Maynard also urged a clarification that DEC's requested exemption for small on‑site wastewater systems apply only to commercial domestic systems, not industrial wastewater, and asked the legislature to consider a statutory salary range for the AELS executive administrator to improve retention.

Matt Barouch of the Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) testified in support of SB54, noting 29 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have similar regulation for certified interior designers and asserting the NCIDQ exam assesses competency in life‑safety topics the bill addresses.

Committee discussion and next steps: Senator Dunbar and other members asked for clarification on section 26 (the pipeline and DEC exemptions). Klayman acknowledged additional drafting work is likely: he said the current language has drawn feedback from industry stakeholders and the bill sponsor staff indicated they would work with the committee to refine pipeline‑related language and the small wastewater exemption before a committee substitute (CS) or subsequent action.

No vote was taken at this first hearing. The committee recessed to set up the next agenda item and scheduled additional meetings in the informational series.