Bills Impacting Social Work
Numerous important bills marked this legislative session. We tracked over 100 bills within a short period, all involving different communities and populations across North Dakota. Although each one we tracked was important in its own way, here is a list of a few that impact the social work profession as a whole.
HB 1035 - The Social Work Compact
On March 18th, Governor Armstrong signed HB 1035 into law, allowing North Dakota to become a part of the interstate compact along with 25 other states. This is huge for social workers; not only does it enable an increase in services here in North Dakota, but it also enhances the quality of care that social workers can provide to out-of-state residents via telehealth.
The compact was officially recognized on April 12th, 2024, with the addition of the seventh state, Kansas. With the compact enacted, there is a 12-18-month window before states can offer multistate licensure. Within this timeframe, we expect to see licensure updates between April and September 2025.
Interim Committee/Interstate Licensure Compact
- An interstate compact is a legal contract between two or more states/territories that would enable social workers to practice in each other’s jurisdiction, giving members of the profession more license mobility.
- State legislatures must enact compact legislation to become a member state of a compact. Seven states must pass the compact legislation in order for the compact to become active.
- On April 12, 2024 Kansas became the seventh state to pass Social Work Interstate Licensing Compact Legislation. That was a threshold that had to be met for states to create a Compact Commission that will govern the compact and ensure coordination between the participating states. In all, 22 states have passed the compact legislation. They are Missouri on July 7, 2023, followed by South Dakota on February 4, 2024; Utah; Washington state, and Kentucky in March; Virginia, Nebraska, Vermont, and Maine in April; Georgia, Iowa, Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee and Minnesota in May; Colorado, Louisiana, Arizona and Rhode Island in June; and New Hampshire in July. The legislation has been introduced in about a dozen other states. Additional states can join the Compact Commission after they pass the legislation.
- In the state of ND, the Interim Workforce Committee concluded their study on the interstate social work licensure compact. After review, the committee voted to support the compact and move forward with legislation during the 2025 legislative session.
- RESOURCES
HB 1430 - Conversion Therapy
This bill was arguably the most intensive bill for the advocacy committee this session. With history in legislation since June 2021, with the North Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners (NDBSWE) adding to their administrative code that it IS an ethical violation for a social worker to practice conversion therapy, this bill has been a battle worth fighting.
It was introduced on January 13th; the bill underwent several amendments in each chamber of the legislature. In the House, the amendment added sections regarding self-determination for the client and altered the definition of conversion therapy. This version was passed in the House and referred to the Senate as HB 1430. From there, NASW-ND proposed an amendment to essentially “nullify” the bill, which included the definition that NDBSWE had passed in 2021.
Eventually, HB 1430 was defeated in the Senate with a total vote of 22 for the bill and 25 against the bill. We would like to thank each Representative and Senator who worked with us to defeat HB 1430! Your work will not be forgotten.
SB 2357 - The Mental Health Composite Board
The intent of this bill was to consolidate the boards of social work, psychology, addiction counseling, and marriage and family therapy into a single, unified board. This would enable a streamlined system for licensure renewal, complaints, applications, and other tasks assigned to the boards, all in one system. While this sounds good in theory, there are many complications when it comes to each profession’s own code of ethics.
Social work, as we’ve seen with bills like the conversion therapy bill, already has misinterpretations regarding our tasks and responsibilities. SB 2357 would have further diluted the social work profession and could have potentially served as a barrier for individuals attempting to renew their licensure.
This bill was later turned into a study and failed in the House on March 28th.