South Carolina H 4649: Robert "Bob" Pattillo Sympathy

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4649 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 17, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4649

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH 
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING ARTICLE 3 OF CHAPTER 63, TITLE 40 TO CONFORM 
THE "SOCIAL WORK INTERSTATE COMPACT ACT" TO THE SOCIAL WORK LICENSURE COMPACT 
MODEL LEGISLATION.

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

SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 63, Title 40 of the S.C. Code is 
amended to read:

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.(A) The purpose of this compact 
is to facilitate interstate practice of regulated social workers by improving 
public access to competent social work services. The compact preserves the 
regulatory authority of the State 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;

 (2) reduce overly burdensome and 
duplicative requirements associated with holding multiple licenses;

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

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

 (5) promote mobility and address 
workforce shortages by eliminating the necessity for licenses in multiple 
states by providing the mutual recognition of other member states licenses;

 (6) support military families;

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

 (8) authorize all member states to 
hold a regulated social worker accountable for abiding by the member state's 
laws, regulations, and applicable standards in the member state in which the 
client is located at the time care is rendered; and

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

 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 gr