South Carolina H 3752: Social Work Interstate Compact Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3752 Text of Previous Version (May. 06, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3752

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

Indicates Matter 
Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Committee Amendment Adopted

May 6, 2025

H. 3752

Introduced by Reps. Gilliam, Lawson, Pope, 
Mitchell, Guffey, Oremus, Brewer, Chapman, M. M. Smith, B. L. Cox, W. Newton 
and Henderson-Myers 

S. Printed 5/6/25--S.

Read the first time April 24, 2025

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE 
"SOCIAL WORK INTERSTATE COMPACT ACT" BY ADDING ARTICLE 3 TO CHAPTER 63, TITLE 
40 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE PURPOSE, FUNCTIONS, OPERATIONS, AND DEFINITIONS CONCERNING 
THE COMPACT; BY ADDING SECTION 40-63-32 SO AS TO PROVIDE APPLICANTS FOR INITIAL 
LICENSURE AS A SOCIAL WORKER SHALL UNDERGO CERTAIN CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS, AND 
TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONFIDENTIALITY AND PERMITTED USES OF THE RESULTS OF THESE 
CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS; AND TO DESIGNATE THE EXISTING PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 
63, TITLE 40 AS ARTICLE 1, ENTITLED "GENERAL PROVISIONS."

 Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Social Work Interstate Compact Act."

SECTION 2. Chapter 63, Title 40 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Article 3

 Social Work Interstate Compact

 Section 40-63-510. (A) The purpose of this compact is to 
facilitate interstate practice of regulated social workers with the goal of 
improving public access to competent social work services. The compact seeks to 
preserve the regulatory authority of states to protect public health and safety 
through the current system of state licensure.

 (B) This 
compact is designed to achieve the following objectives:

 (1) 
increase public access to social work services by providing for the mutual 
recognition of other member state licenses;

 (2) 
enhance the member states' ability to protect the public's health and safety;

 (3) 
encourage the cooperation of member states in regulating multistate practice;

 (4) 
support military families;

 (5) 
facilitate the exchange of licensure and disciplinary information among member 
states;

 (6) 
authorize all member states to hold a regulated social worker accountable for 
abiding by the member state's scope of practice in the member state in which 
the client is located at the time care is rendered;

 (7) 
allow for the use of telehealth to facilitate increased access to regulated 
social work services;

 (8) 
support the uniformity of social work licensure requirements throughout the 
states to promote public safety and access to services; and

 (9) 
promote mobility and address workforce shortages by eliminating the necessity 
for licenses in multiple states.

 Section 40-63-520. (A) As used in this compact, and 
except as otherwise provided, the following definitions shall apply:

 (1) 
"Active Duty Military" means any individual in full-time duty status in the 
active uniformed service of the United States including members of the National 
Guard and Reserve.

 (2) 
"Adverse Action" means any administrative, civil, equitable or criminal action 
permitted by a state's laws which is imposed by a licensing authority or other 
authority against a regulated social worker, including actions against an 
individual's license or multistate authorization to practice such as 
revocation, suspension, probation, monitoring of the licensee, limitation on 
the licensee's practice, or any other encumbrance on licensure affecting a 
regulated social worker's authorization to practice, including issuance of a 
cease and desist action.

 (3) 
"Alternative Program" means a nondisciplinary monitoring or practice 
remediation process approved by a social work licensing authority to address 
impaired practitioners.

 (4) 
"Compact Commission" or "Commission" means the national administrative body 
whose membership consists of all member states that have enacted the compact.

 (5) 
"Current Significant Investigative Information" means:

 (a) 
investigative information that a licensing authority, after a preliminary 
inquiry that includes notification and an opportunity for the regulated social 
worker to respond has reason to believe is not groundless and, if proved true, 
would indicate more than a minor infraction as may be defined by the 
commission; or

 (b) 
investigative information that indicates that the regulated social worker 
represents an immediate threat to public health and safety, as may be defined 
by the commission, regardless of whether the regulated social worker has been 
notified and has had an opportunity to respond.

 (6) 
"Data System" means a repository of information about licensees, including, but 
not limited to, continuing education, examination, licensure,