Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 30 - Professions and Occupations › Part 203 - Interior Designer Advisory Committee to the Mississippi State Board of Architecture › Chapter 5 - Professional Code of Conduct › Rule 30-203-5.5 - Professional Conduct

Current through June 25, 2024
A. Any office which
				is advertised as providing certified interior design shall have a Certified
				Interior Designer resident and regularly employed in that office having direct
				knowledge and supervisory control of such work.
Commentary - This rule addresses the subject of
				  main, branch or satellite offices of a certified interior design firm and
				  protects the public in that such offices are continually supervised by a
				  Certified Interior Designer certified in the jurisdiction where the office is
				  located.
B.
				"Responsible control" shall be control over all phases of the interior design
				of a project as is ordinarily exercised by Certified Interior Designers
				applying the required standard of care, including, but not limited to control
				over and detailed knowledge of the content of technical submissions throughout
				preparation by the Certified Interior Designer and the Certified Interior
				Designer's employees.
C. A
				Certified Interior Designer shall neither make nor offer to make any gifts,
				other than gifts of nominal value (included, for example, reasonable
				entertainment and hospitality), with the intent of influencing the judgment of
				an existing or prospective client in connection with a project in which the
				Certified Interior Designer is interested.
Commentary Rule 5.5(C) is the correlative of Rule
				  5.3(B), but the latter describes criminal conduct under most state laws for it
				  involves both "private bribes" (which are ordinarily not criminal in nature)
				  and the unseemly conduct of using bribery to obtain work. Note that the rule
				  realistically excludes reasonable entertainment and hospitality and other gifts
				  of nominal value.
D. A Certified Interior Designer shall not
				engage in conduct involving fraud or wanton disregard for the rights of
				others.
E. A Certified Interior
				Designer, acting individually or through a firm, association or corporation
				shall not request, propose, or accept an agreement, contract, or commission for
				certified interior design services on a "contingency basis" under which the
				Certified Interior Designer's judgment may be compromised or when a contingency
				provision is used as a device for promoting or securing an agreement, contract,
				or commission, either for additional commissions or projects or for performing
				further services on the project involved. For purposes of adjudging the
				provisions of this section "contingency basis" will also be interpreted to
				include the preparation of preliminary reports and/or applications for funds or
				for reviewing for approval where the fee involved is to be paid only after such
				submission or approval, or in an amount substantially below the cost of
				performing the services.
Commentary - This provision reflects directly on the
				  increasing custom of soliciting submittals from Certified Interior Designers
				  with compensation to the Certified Interior Designer contingent upon the
				  occurrence of a particular event, i.e.: the funding of the project. The
				  Certified Interior Designer is requested to provide services with the
				  possibility of receiving no, or a substantially reduced, fee. If this occurs,
				  selection of the Certified Interior Designer is based upon conditions other
				  than qualifications. Additionally, this encourages the Certified Interior
				  Designer to perform substandard or inadequate work which may endanger the life,
				  health or safety of the public.
Miss. Code Ann.§
										73-73-25(2)(h)