(1) Nothing in this part 4 shall prevent
any person, firm, corporation, or association from preparing plans and
specifications for, designing, planning, or administering the construction contracts
for construction, alterations, remodeling, additions to, or repair of, any of the
following:
(a) One-, two-, three-, and four-family dwellings, including accessory
buildings commonly associated with those dwellings;
(b) Garages, industrial buildings, offices, farm buildings, and buildings for
the marketing, storage, or processing of farm products, and warehouses, that do
not exceed one story in height, exclusive of a one-story basement, and, under
applicable building codes, are not designed for occupancy by more than ten
persons;
(c) Additions, alterations, or repairs to the buildings referred to in
subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) of this section that do not cause the completed
buildings to exceed the applicable limitations set forth in this subsection (1);
(d) Nonstructural alterations of any nature to any building if the alterations
do not affect the life safety of the occupants of the building.
(2) Nothing in this part 4 shall prevent, prohibit, or limit any municipality or
county of this state, home rule or otherwise, from adopting such building codes as
may, in the reasonable exercise of the police power of said governmental unit, be
necessary for the protection of the inhabitants of the municipality or county.
(3) Nothing in this part 4 shall be construed as curtailing or extending the
rights of any other profession or craft, including the practice of landscape
architecture by landscape architects pursuant to article 130 of this title 12.
(4) Nothing in this part 4 shall be construed as prohibiting the practice of
architecture by any employee of the United States government or any bureau,
division, or agency of the United States government while in the discharge of the
employee's official duties.
(5) Nothing in this part 4 shall be construed to prevent the independent
employment of a licensed professional engineer practicing pursuant to part 2 of
this article 120.
(6) (a) Except as provided in subsection (6)(b) of this section, nothing in this
part 4 prevents an interior designer from preparing interior design documents and
specifications for interior finishes and nonstructural elements within and
surrounding interior spaces of a building or structure of any size, height, and
occupancy and filing the documents and specifications for the purpose of obtaining
approval for a building permit as provided by law from the appropriate city, city and
county, or regional building authority, which city, city and county, or regional
building authority may approve the filing in the same manner as for other
professions and may only reject the filing for a reason provided in law, which reason
may be based on a local government's ordinance, resolution, or building code
adoption policy.
(b) (I) Interior designers shall not be engaged in the construction of:
(A) The structural frame system supporting a building;
(B) Mechanical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, or electrical
vertical transportation systems;
(C) Fire-rated vertical shafts in any multistory structure;
(D) Fire-related protection of structural elements;
(E) Smoke evacuation and compartmentalization;
(F) Emergency sprinkler systems;
(G) Emergency alarm systems; or
(H) Any other alteration affecting the life safety of the occupants of a
building outside the content of the interior design documents and specifications
listed in subsection (6)(a) of this section.
(II) An interior designer shall, as a condition of filing interior design
documents and specifications for the purpose of obtaining approval for a building
permit, provide to the responsible building official of the jurisdiction proof of the
interior designer's professional liability insurance coverage that is in force. An
interior designer is not subject to any of the restrictions set forth in subsections
(1)(b) and (1)(d) of this section.
(c) As used in this subsection (6), interior designer means a person who:
(I) Engages in:
(A) Consultation, study, design analysis, drawing, space planning, and
specification for nonstructural or nonseismic interior construction with due concern
for the life safety of the occupants of the building;
(B) Preparing and submitting interior design documents for the purpose of
obtaining approval for a building permit as provided by law for nonstructural or
nonseismic interior construction, materials, finishes, space planning, furnishings,
fixtures, equipment, lighting, and reflected ceiling plans;
(C) Designing for fabrication nonstructural elements within and surrounding
interior spaces of buildings; or
(D) The administration of design construction and contract documents, as
the clients' agent, relating to the functions described in subsections (6)(c)(I)(A) to
(6)(c)(I)(C) of this section, and collaboration with specialty consultants and licensed
practitioners in other areas of technical expertise; and
(II) Possesses written documentation that the interior designer:
(A) and (B) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2020.)
(C) Has met the education and experience requirements of, and has
subsequently passed, the qualification examination promulgated by the Council for
Interior Design Qualification or its successor organization; and
(D) Maintains active certification with the Council for Interior Design
Qualification or its successor organization.
(d) As used in this subsection (6), nonstructural or nonseismic includes
interior elements or components that are not load bearing, do not assist in the
seismic design, and do not require structural computations for a building. Common
nonstructural or nonseismic elements or components include ceiling and partition
systems that employ normal and typical bracing conventions and are not part of the
structural integrity of the building.
(7) Nothing in this article 120 shall prohibit a person who is licensed to
practice architecture in another jurisdiction of the United States from soliciting
work in Colorado. The person shall not perform the practice of architecture in this
state without first having obtained a license from the board or having associated
with an architect licensed in this state who is associated with the project at all
stages of the project.
(8) Nothing in this section authorizes an individual, including an individual
authorized to engage in conduct under subsection (6) of this section, to engage in
the practice of architecture, engineering, or any other occupation regulated under
the laws of this state or to prepare, sign, or seal plans with respect to such practice
or in connection with any governmental permit unless the individual is licensed or
otherwise permitted by law to so act.