You may have never sat in a Florida Building Commission hearing or testified before the International Code Council. Most designers haven’t. But that work is happening on your behalf right now — whether or not you’re a dues-paying member.

We got code language changed — twice, after being told no. AIBD proposed modifications to the Florida Building Code clarifying definitions designers rely on. The Florida Building Commission rejected most of it on the first pass. We revised the proposal, went through several more months of hearings, and got it adopted into the next edition of the code, effective this December.

We did the same at the national level with the International Code Council. After an initial denial, AIBD’s proposed language was ultimately accepted into the adopted 2027 ICC model codes — codes many U.S. jurisdictions use as the foundation for their own requirements.

We got an unlawful local policy repealed. For years, a Florida county required a registered design professional to prepare construction documents for residential projects over $35,000, even though state law exempted residential construction from that requirement. After sustained pressure from AIBD, the policy was repealed in August 2025.

We’re watching legislatures in all 50 states. This year that included helping stop a California proposal that would have imposed new licensure requirements on residential interior design work, and pushing Florida legislation to allow accessory dwelling units in residential districts. That bill was removed at the last minute — we’ll be back with it in 2027.

We help members directly, too. In May, AIBD worked with a Florida city, the state DOT, and a private developer to resolve infrastructure issues that had stalled a certificate of occupancy for an apartment project. It got resolved, and tenants have since moved in.

Here’s the honest truth: this work isn’t free, and it doesn’t happen automatically.

It takes volunteer time, staff time, travel to hearings, and long-term relationships with the code bodies and legislators who write the rules you work under. Membership dues are what make that possible.

Special thanks to Jack Butler, who led this year's code and legislative advocacy, and to the many other volunteers who gave their time to hearings, committees, and conversations most designers will never see.

If you’re a member: this is what your dues are funding. On behalf of every designer who benefits from this work — including the ones who’ll never know it happened — thank you.

If you’re not yet a member: you’re benefiting from this work too. We’d welcome you to join us and help make sure it continues. You can do that at AIBD.org/join.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being part of this industry,
The American Institute of Building Design

P.S. AIBD is a volunteer-driven organization — nothing you just read happens without volunteers stepping up to do it. If you’d like to get involved, visit AIBD.org/volunteer to see how.