South Carolina S 160: Dietitian Licensure Compact

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 160 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 12, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 160

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

February 12, 2026

S. 160

Introduced 
by Senator Verdin 

S. Printed 2/12/26--S.

Read the first time January 14, 2025

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO ENACT 
THE "DIETITIAN LICENSURE COMPACT ACT"; BY ADDING ARTICLE 1 TO CHAPTER 21, TITLE 
40, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE PURPOSES, FUNCTIONS, OPERATIONS, AND DEFINITIONS FOR 
THE COMPACT; BY AMENDING SECTION 40-20-20, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS IN THE 
DIETETICS LICENSURE ACT, SO AS TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 
40-20-60, RELATING TO APPLICATIONS FOR LICENSURE UNDER THE DIETETICS LICENSURE 
ACT, SO AS TO REQUIRE CERTAIN CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS OF APPLICANTS.

 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 "Dietitian Licensure Compact Act".

SECTION 2. Chapter 21, Title 40 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 1

Dietician Licensure Compact 

 Section 
40-21-110. The purpose of this compact is to 
facilitate interstate practice of dietetics with the goal of improving public 
access to dietetics services. This compact preserves the regulatory authority 
of states to protect public health and safety through the current system of 
state licensure, while also providing for licensure portability through a 
compact privilege granted to qualifying professionals. This compact is designed 
to achieve the following objectives:

 (1) 
increase public access to dietetics services;

 (2) 
provide opportunities for interstate practice by licensed dietitians who meet 
uniform requirements;

 (3) 
eliminate the necessity for licenses in multiple states;

 (4) 
reduce administrative burden on member states and licensees;

 (5) 
enhance the states' ability to protect the public's health and safety;

 (6) 
encourage the cooperation of member states in regulating multistate practice of 
licensed dietitians;

 (7) 
support relocating active military members and their spouses;

 (8) 
enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and disciplinary information 
among member states; and

 (9) 
vest all member states with the authority to hold a licensed dietitian 
accountable for meeting all state practice laws in the state in which the 
patient is located at the time care is rendered.

 Section 
40-21-120. As used in this compact, and except as 
otherwise provided:

 (1) 
"ACEND" means the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and 
Dietetics or its successor organization.

 (2) 
"Active military member" means any individual with full-time duty status in the 
active Armed Forces of the United States, including members of the National 
Guard and Reserve.

 (3) 
"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 licensee, including actions against an individual's license 
or compact privilege such as revocation, suspension, probation, monitoring of 
the licensee, limitation on the licensee's practice, or any other encumbrance 
on licensure affecting a licensee's authorization to practice, including 
issuance of a cease and desist action.

 (4) 
"Alternative program" means a nondisciplinary monitoring or practice 
remediation process approved by a licensing authority.

 (5) 
"Charter member state" means any member state that enacted this compact by law 
before the effective date specified in Section 40-21-220.

 (6) 
"Continuing education" means a requirement, as a condition of license renewal, 
to provide evidence of participation in, and completion of, educational and 
professional activities relevant to practice or area of work.

 (7) 
"CDR" means the Commission on Dietetic Registration or its successor 
organization.

 (8) 
"Compact commission" means the government agency whose membership consists of 
all states that have enacted this compact, which is known as the Dietitian 
Licensure Compact Commission, as described in Section 40-21-180, and which 
shall operate as an instrumentality of the member states.

 (9) 
"Compact privilege" means a legal authorization, which is equivalent to a 
license, permitting the practice of dietetics in a remote state.

 (10) 
"Current significant investigative information" means:

 (a) 
investigative information that a licensing authority, after a preliminary 
inquiry that includes notification and an opportunity for the subject licensee 
to respond, if required by state law, has reason to believe is not groundless 
and, if proved true, would indicate more than a minor infracti