1. (a) The interior designer shall not:

   1. (1) circumvent or attempt to circumvent any provision of the Act or a general Board rule through the actions of another;
   2. (2) participate, directly or indirectly, in any plan, scheme, or arrangement attempting or having as its purpose the evasion of any provision of the Act or general Board rule;
   3. (3) fail to exercise reasonable care or diligence to prevent his/her partners, associates, and employees from engaging in conduct which, if done by him/her, would violate any provision of the Act or general Board rule;
   4. (4) violate any of the professional practice requirements of federal, state and local statutes, codes, regulations, rules or ordinances in providing interior design services;
   5. (5) engage in any illegal conduct involving moral turpitude;
   6. (6) engage in any conduct that discredits or tends to discredit the "interior design" profession;
   7. (7) make, publish, or disseminate any statements, criticisms, or arrangements on interior design matters connected with public policy which are inspired or paid for by an interested party or parties, unless he/she has prefaced such statement or comment by explicitly identifying himself/herself, disclosing the identities of the party or parties on whose behalf he/she is speaking and revealing the existence of any pecuniary interest he/she may have in such "interior design" matter;
   8. (8) permit or allow his/her professional identification, seal, firm or business name, or his/her services to be used or made use of, directly or indirectly, or in any manner whatsoever, so as to make possible to create the opportunity for the unauthorized practice of "interior design" by any person, firm, or corporation in this state;
   9. (9) perform any acts, allow any omissions, or make any assertions or representations in the practice of "interior design" which are fraudulent, deceitful, or misleading, or which in any manner whatsoever tend to create a misleading impression;
   10. (10) associate with or permit or allow the use of his/her name, firm or business name or professional identification, or seal in connection with any business venture, project or enterprise which he/she knows or should have known, is engaged in professional practices which violate any provision of the Act or any Board rule;
   11. (11) maliciously injure or attempt to injure or damage the professional reputation of another by any means whatsoever; provided and except, however, that this shall not relieve any interior designer of the obligation to expose any fraud, gross negligence, incompetence, misconduct, unethical or illegal conduct to the proper authorities or preclude a frank but private appraisal of interior designers or other persons or firms when requested by a client or prospective employer;
   12. (12) aid or abet, directly or indirectly, any unregistered person in connection with the unauthorized practice of "interior design," or any firm or corporation in the practice of "interior design" unless carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Act;
   13. (13) directly or indirectly or in any manner whatsoever lend his/her registration, seal, or professional identification to any unregistered person or to any firm or corporation carrying on the practice of "interior design" contrary to the provisions of the Act; or
   14. (14) on his/her own authority as an employee of the State of Texas or any of its political subdivisions authorize or create any situation contrary to the requirements of the Act.
2. (b) The interior designer possessing knowledge of an applicant's qualifications for registration shall cooperate with the Board by responding in writing to the Board with those qualifications when requested to do so by the applicant or the Board.
3. (c) The interior designer shall be personally and professionally responsible and accountable for the care, custody, control, and use of his/her interior designer's seal, his/her professional signature, and identification. The interior designer whose seal has been lost, misplaced, or stolen, shall, upon discovery of its loss, report same immediately to the Board, which may invalidate the stolen registration number of said seal, if it deems this necessary, and issue another registration number to said interior designer.

Source Note:The provisions of this §5.158 adopted to be effective September 19, 1996, 21 TexReg 8679.