I see nothing wrong with the first sentence, or in general anything else in the article. To my knowledge, most states do not require houses or small buildings to be designed by architects, nor do they require "some level of architectural education" for those people who do design them. If some states do require that, then yes, the article should have stated that. And if you want the article to mention that, go ahead and request that yourself--there's no need for the request to come from the AIA.
Except in the case of any states that may require home designers to have an architectural license, yes, you can bypass a college degree, internship and licensing test, and call yourself a "building designer" and be good to go. And no state requires twenty years experience to become a residential architect, as you write.
There is a separate issue of whether states SHOULD require houses and small buildings to be designed by architects. I believe they should not. The way for architects to obtain residential commissions is to show that they offer superior services to clients than non-architects, rather than attempting to make design of houses and small buildings by non-architects illegal.
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Michael Dowd AIA
Architect
Dowd Architecture, Inc
Portland OR
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