North Carolina SB 155: Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 2
SENATE BILL 155
Judiciary Committee Substitute Adopted 3/12/25

Short Title: Social Work Interstate Licensure Compact. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
February 26, 2025
*S155-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH AND ENTER INTO AN INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR THE 2
PRACTICE OF SOCIAL WORK. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.(a) Chapter 90B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 5
Article 1 to be titled the "Social Worker Certification and Licensure Act." The following statutes 6
constitute the new Article 1: G.S. 90B-1, 90B-2, 90B-3, 90B-4, 90B-5, 90B-6, 90B-6.1, 90B-6.2, 7
90B-7, 90B-8, 90B-9, 90B-9.1, 90B-10, 90B-11, 90B-12, 90B-13, 90B-14, 90B-15, and 90B-16. 8
SECTION 1.(b) Chapter 90B of the General Statutes is retitled as "Social Worker 9
Certification and Licensure." 10
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 90B-1 reads as rewritten: 11
"§ 90B-1. Short title. 12
This Chapter Article shall be known as the "Social Worker Certification and Licensure Act."" 13
SECTION 2. Chapter 90B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 14
Article to read: 15
"Article 2. 16
"Social Work Licensure Compact. 17
"§ 90B-20. Purpose. 18
The purpose of this Compact is to facilitate interstate practice of regulated social workers by 19
improving public access to social work services. The Compact preserves the regulatory authority 20
of states to protect public health and safety through the current system of state licensure. This 21
Compact is designed to achieve the following objectives: 22
(1) Increase public access to social work services. 23
(2) Reduce overly burdensome and duplicative requirements associated with 24
holding multiple licenses. 25
(3) Enhance the member states' ability to protect the public's health and safety. 26
(4) Encourage the cooperation of member states in regulating multistate practice. 27
(5) Promote mobility and address workforce shortages by eliminating the 28
necessity for licenses in multiple states by providing for the mutual 29
recognition of other member state licenses. 30
(6) Support military families. 31
(7) Facilitate the exchange of licensure and disciplinary information among 32
member states. 33
(8) Authorize all member states to hold a regulated social worker accountable for 34
abiding by the member state's laws, regulations, and applicable professional 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 155-Second Edition
standards in the member state in which the client is located at the time care is 1
rendered. 2
(9) Allow for the use of telehealth to facilitate increased access to social work 3
services. 4
"§ 90B-21. Definitions. 5
As used in this Compact, and except as otherwise provided, the following definitions shall 6
apply: 7
(1) Active military member. – Any individual in full-time duty status in the active 8
Armed Forces of the United States, including members of the National Guard 9
and Reserve. 10
(2) Adverse action. – Any administrative, civil, equitable, or criminal action 11
permitted by a state's laws which is imposed by a licensing authority or other 12
authority against a regulated social worker, including actions against an 13
individual's license or multistate authorization to practice such as revocation, 14
suspension, probation, monitoring of the licensee, limitation on the licensee's 15
practice, or any other encumbrance on licensure affecting a regulated social 16
worker's authorization to practice, including issuance of a cease and desist 17
action. 18
(3) Alternative program. – A nondisciplinary monitoring process or practice 19
remediation process approved by a licensing authority to address practitioners 20
with an impairment. 21
(4) Charter member states. – Member states who have enacted legislation to adopt 22
this Compact where such legislation predates the effective date of this 23
Compact, as defined in this Article. 24
(5) Compact Commission or Commission. – The government agency whose 25
membership consists of all states that have enacted this Compact which is 26
known as the Social Work Licensure Compact Commission, as defined in this 27
Article, and which shall operate as an instrumentality of the member states. 28
(6) Current significant investigative information. – Investigative information that 29
(i) a licensing authority, after a preliminary inquiry that includes notification 30
and an opportunity for the regulated social worker to respond has reason to 31
believe is not groundless and, if proved true, would indicate more than a minor 32
infraction, as may be defined by the Commission, or (ii) indicates that the 33
regulated social worker represents an immediate threat to public health and 34
safety, as may be defined by the Commission, regardless of whether the 35
regulated social worker has been notified and has had an opportunity to 36
respond. 37
(7) Data system. – A repository of information about licensees, including, but not 38
limi