SESSION WATCH
Died SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. SB 74

Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact
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SPONSOR
Harrell
FILED BY
Gayle Harrell — District 31, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Health Policy

Filed under Healthcare.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact; Creating the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact; specifying requirements for state participation in the compact; requiring member states to designate the categories of social work licensure which are eligible for issuance of a multistate license in such states; providing for the renewal of multistate licenses; specifying the consequences and parameters of practice for a licensee whose multistate license or multistate authorization to practice is encumbered, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Lets social workers practice across state lines under one multistate license.

Creates the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, letting a social worker with an unencumbered license in one member state get a multistate license to practice in every other member state, once seven states join and Florida's board and licensees meet compact requirements.

Applicants must submit fingerprints for an FBI and state background check, and if their license is ever restricted at home, their right to practice in every other member state is automatically switched off until it's lifted.

A new multistate commission, funded by fees on member states and licensees, writes rules that automatically become law in Florida; only a court challenge or a majority vote of every member legislature within four years can undo one.

Florida's compact delegate and the commission's staff count as state agents when sued over compact work, and the commission -- not the individual -- pays any resulting claim or judgment.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Creates a multistate license for licensed social workers majors. 491.022

AIA social worker with an unencumbered license in a home member state can get a multistate license letting them practice in every other member state, once Florida and six other states have joined the compact.

“authorizes the regulated social worker to practice in all member states under the multistate authorization to practice” bill text, line 246 →
§ 2 Requires fingerprint background checks for multistate applicants majors. 491.022

AIAnyone applying for a multistate license must submit fingerprints or other biometric data so the home state can pull a full FBI and state criminal history report before granting the license.

“Submit, in connection with an application for a multistate license, fingerprints or other biometric-based data for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information” bill text, line 351 →
§ 3 Automatically shuts off practice rights when a license is encumbered majors. 491.022

AIIf a social worker's multistate license is restricted, suspended, or revoked by the home state, the authorization to practice in every other member state switches off automatically until the encumbrance is cleared.

“the regulated social worker's multistate authorization to practice must be deactivated in all remote states until the multistate license is no longer encumbered” bill text, line 456 →
§ 4 Gives commission rules the force of law in Florida majors. 491.022

AIRules adopted by the new multistate commission automatically bind Florida and every other member state as law, without going through the state's own rulemaking process before taking effect.

“The rules of the commission have the force of law in each member state” bill text, line 981 →
§ 5 Reserves license revocation to the home state alone moderates. 491.022

AIA remote state may discipline a social worker's authorization to practice within its own borders, but only the home state that issued the multistate license can revoke or suspend the underlying license itself.

“Only the home state may take adverse action against a regulated social worker's multistate license.” bill text, line 587 →
§ 6 Makes the commission, not the delegate, pay legal claims moderates. 768.28

AIFlorida's compact delegate and the commission's officers and staff count as state agents when sued over compact work, and the commission covers any resulting claim or judgment rather than the individual.

“The commission shall pay any claim or judgment pursuant to this section” bill text, line 1529 →
§ 7 Exempts compact practitioners from Florida's own licensing exam and endorsement rules moderates. 491.006

AIA clinical social worker licensed in another compact state who holds a multistate license can practice in Florida without going through the state's usual licensure-by-examination or licensure-by-endorsement process.

“practicing under the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact pursuant to s. 491.022, and only within the scope provided therein, is exempt from the licensure requirements” bill text, line 1304 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Health Policy
1/13/2026
Introduced
10/6/2025
Referred to Health Policy; Appropriations Committee on Health and...
9/24/2025
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 491.022
+9284 / −0
s. 456.073
+28 / −1
s. 456.076
+17 / −1
s. 491.004
+26 / −0
s. 491.005
+46 / −1
s. 491.006
+44 / −0