Texas State Senator Kip Averitt's office has called to inform IALD that the "lighting designer" language in Texas House Bill 2649 (THB2649) will be withdrawn and replaced with language requesting a study by the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation of the feasibility of licensing in the industry.
"The IALD is extremely pleased that the combined grassroots efforts organized by the architectural and theatrical lighting design communities have paid off," IALD President Jeff Miller stated. "We hope that the Texas legislature and executive branches will continue to work with us to help insure the continued economic and creative health of our industry."
There are various technical steps to be completed in the next few days as the Texas legislative session reaches its statutory end-of-life on 31 May, but the bottom line is that lighting designers will be able to continue to practice in Texas!
WHAT ACTION YOU SHOULD TAKE NOW
1. NO MORE PHONE CALLS to any Texas legislative offices or to the Governor's office.
2. WRITE ALL THE LEGISLATORS WHOM YOU HAVE CONTACTED and thank them for their hard work and thoughtful consideration of the unintended consequences that would have attended passage of the amendment to THB2649. You can find mailing addresses here.
3. STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES from IALD about the resolution of this situation as the dust settles and we learn the final details. The IALD Twitter account and the IALD homepage will continue to be updated with short-term news as it breaks.
FULL TEXT OF THB2649 CAN BE FOUND HERE
THE CURRENT STATUS OF THB2649 CAN BE FOUND HERE