SECTION 5.154. Dishonest Practice

(a) A Registered Interior Designer may not directly or indirectly perform an act, omit an act or allow an omission, make an assertion, or otherwise engage in a practice with the intent to:

(1) defraud;

(2) deceive; or

(3) create a misleading impression.

(b) A Registered Interior Designer may not advertise in a manner which is false, misleading, or deceptive.

(c) A Registered Interior Designer may not directly or indirectly solicit, offer, give, or receive anything or any service of significant value as an inducement or reward to secure any specific publicly funded Interior Design work. A Registered Interior Designer may not give Interior Design plans, design services, pre-bond referendum services, or any other goods or services of significant value to a governmental entity in response to a request for qualifications, a request for proposals, or otherwise during the process to select a Registered Interior Designer to render publicly funded Interior Design work. The term "significant value" is defined to mean any act, article, money, or other material consideration which is of such value or proportion that its offer or acceptance would affect the governmental entity's selection of a Registered Interior Designer or would create the appearance of an obligation or bias on the part of the governmental entity to select the Registered Interior Designer to perform the Interior Design work.

(d) For purposes of this section, a Registered Interior Designer's conduct is intentional, or with intent, if the nature of the conduct or a reasonable result of the conduct demonstrates a conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result. A Registered Interior Designer's intent may be established by circumstantial evidence.

Source Note: The provisions of this §5.154 adopted to be effective March 1, 2001, 26 TexReg 1726; amended to be effective July 18, 2007, 32 TexReg 4396; amended to be effective June 13, 2010, 35 TexReg 4708; amended to be effective March 3, 2013, 38 TexReg 1184; amended to be effective November 23, 2014, 39 TexReg 9009