Wisconsin Legislative Council
AMENDMENT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Memo published: October 27, 2023 Contact: Patrick Ward, Staff Attorney
2023 Assembly Bill 144
Assembly
Amendment 1
2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 144
2023 Assembly Bill 144 creates a preliminary health care credential that is available to individuals who
have completed the requirements for the corresponding permanent or training health care credential
while they await a decision from the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) regarding
their application for the permanent or training credential. The preliminary credential subjects a person
to all responsibilities and limitations of the corresponding credential.
An applicant for a preliminary credential must make certain attestations, including that the applicant
has completed the requirements for the corresponding credential within the last two years, does not
have a disqualifying arrest or conviction record, has applied for the corresponding credential, and is
engaged with a health care employer to provide services within the scope of the credential.
The health care employer must also make certain attestations, including that the employer has engaged
with the applicant, that the employer is reasonably certain that the applicant has completed the
requirements for the permanent or training credential within the last two years, and that the applicant
has passed a background check performed by the health care employer. The employer also must submit
to DSPS its national provider identifier.
The preliminary credential is effective on the submission of the employer’s attestation or a date
specified by the employer. The preliminary credential expires on the date DSPS grants or denies the
application for the corresponding credential.
ASSEMBLY AMENDMENT 1
Assembly Amendment 1 retains the bill and adds provisions that ratify and enter Wisconsin into the
Social Work Licensure Compact.
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The compact generally provides for the ability of a social worker to
become eligible to practice in other compact states. The compact applies only to an applicant for a
multistate license, and does not affect requirements for Wisconsin licensure.
Licensure
To obtain a multistate license, an individual must satisfy general requirements and requirements
specific to the individual’s category of multistate licensure. The Social Work Licensure Compact creates
three categories of multistate licensure: clinical, master’s, and bachelor’s. The general requirements an
individual must satisfy are the following:
Hold or be eligible for an active, unencumbered license in the individual’s home state.
Pay any applicable fees, including state fees, for the multistate license.
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T h e am endment a dds the prov isions of 2 023 A ssembly Bill 382, r elating t o ratification of t he Social W ork Licensure Com pact. - 2 -
Complete a background check.
Notify the individual’s home state of any adverse action taken on any professional license by a
member state within 30 days from the date the action is taken.
Meet any continuing competence requirements established by the home state.
Abide by the laws, regulations, and applicable standards in the member state where the client is
located at the time care is rendered.
A clinical-category multistate license applicant must also fulfill a competency requirement, an
education requirement, and a practice requirement. An applicant satisfies the competency requirement
by either passage of a clinical-category qualifying national exam or continuous social work licensure at
the clinical category that began prior to the date on which the applicant’s home state began to require a
qualifying national exam for this category, or a substantially equivalent method determined by rule. An
applicant satisfies the education requirement by attaining a master’s degree in social work from a
program at a qualifying college or university. An applicant satisfies the practice requirement by
completion of either a period of postgraduate supervised clinical practice equal to a minimum of 3,000
hours or a minimum of two years of full-time postgraduate supervised clinical practice, or a
substantially equivalent method determined by rule.
A master’s-category multistate license applicant must also fulfill a competency requirement and an
education requirement. An applicant satisfies the competency requirement by passage of a master’s-
category qualifying national exam or continuous social work licensure at the master’s category that
began prior to the date on which the applicant’s home state began to require a qualifying national exam
for this category, or a substantially equivalent method determined by rule. An applicant satisfies the
education requirement by attaining a master’s degree in social work from a program at a qualifying
college or university.
A bachelor’s-category multistate license applicant must also fulfill a competency requirement and an
education requirement. An applicant satisfies the competency requirement by passage of a bachelor’s-
category qualifying national exam or continuous social work licensure at the bachelor’s category that
began prior to the date on which the applicant’s home state began to require a qualifying national exam
for this category, or a substantially equivalent method determined by rule. An applicant satisfies the
education requirement by attaining a bachelor’s degree in social work from a program at a qualifying
college or university.
A multistate license is subject to the renewal requirements of the license holder’s home state.
If a multistate license holder moves from one member state to another member state, the individual is
required to immediately apply for the reissuance of the individual’s multistate license in the new
member state and provide notice to the prior home state. The new home state must verify the
applicant’s credentials and conduct the required background check, and may require completion of a
jurisprudence requirement, if required for initial licensure.
An activity duty military member or the member’s spouse must designate a home state where the
individual has a multistate license and may retain that home state designation during the period the
service member is on active duty.
Regulatory Oversight
While providing social work services under a multistate license, a licensed individual must function
within the laws and regulations of the member state in which the person is providing the services, and is
subject to that state’s regulatory authority. - 3 -
In addition, the compact does all of the following:
Allows member states’ licensure boards to conduct joint investigations of licensed individuals and to
issue subpoenas that are enforceable in other member states.
Creates a coordinated database and reporting system containing licensure, adverse action, and
investigative information on all licensed individuals in member states.
Requires applicants for a multistate license to submit to be fingerprinted, and requires an
applicant’s fingerprint cards to be submitted to the state Department of Justice and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation for a criminal history background check.
Governance of the Compact
For governance of the compact, the compact enters Wisconsin into the Social Work Licensure Compact
Commission, which includes one member of the licensure boards of each member state. The
commission has various powers and duties granted in the compact, including overseeing the
administration of the compact, enforcing the compact, adopting bylaws, promulgating binding rules to
coordinate implementation and administration of the compact, and establishing and electing an
executive committee.
The compact provides for dispute resolution between states and includes a process for termination of a
state’s membership in the compact if a state defaults on its obligations under the compact. The compact
also permits a state to withdraw from the compact by repealing the statute authorizing the compact, to
take effect six months after the effective date of the repeal.
The compact requires seven states to enact the compact statute before the commission is created and
compact implementation begins. The compact may be amended by the member states, effective after
enacted into the laws of all member states.
BILL HISTORY
Representative Sortwell offered Assembly Amendment 1 on October 9, 2023. On October 11, 2023, the
Assembly Committee on Regulatory Licensing Reform recommended adoption of the amendment and
passage of the bill, as amended, both on votes of Ayes, 5; Noes, 4.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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