An Act To Amend Title 24 Of The Delaware Code Relating To A Respiratory Care Interstate Compact.
SB216 adopts the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact in Delaware law. The compact is designed to let respiratory therapists who are licensed in one member state practice in other member states through a “compact privilege,” while preserving each state’s authority over licensure, scope of practice, discipline, and public safety. It is intended to improve access to respiratory therapy services, reduce administrative barriers, support workforce mobility, and help active-duty military members and their spouses maintain practice opportunities across state lines.
The bill sets out a detailed interstate framework governing eligibility, background checks, reporting obligations, adverse actions, investigations, data sharing, rulemaking, enforcement, and withdrawal. It creates a Respiratory Care Interstate Compact Commission with authority to adopt binding rules, maintain a shared data system, coordinate investigations, and enforce compliance among member states. The compact does not take effect until seven states have enacted it, and Delaware’s implementing act likewise becomes effective only when that threshold is met.
SB216 would amend Title 24 of the Delaware Code by adding Chapter 17C and establishing Delaware’s participation in the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact. If activated, it would allow qualified Delaware respiratory therapists to seek compact privileges in other member states and would allow out-of-state compact licensees to practice in Delaware subject to Delaware’s scope-of-practice rules and any jurisprudence requirements. It also requires participation in a shared data system, criminal background checks for new licensees, reporting of adverse actions and significant investigative information, and recognition of compact rules that supersede conflicting state law to the extent of the conflict.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text and voting history is strongly supportive. The synopsis emphasizes improved patient access, reduced licensure barriers, and better public safety through information sharing, and the Senate third reading passed unanimously, 20-0. The absence of recorded committee opposition or transcript debate suggests the measure was not especially controversial in the available record.
The main policy tensions are between interstate mobility and state regulatory control. The compact expands cross-state practice, but only for therapists who meet eligibility standards, remain in good standing, and comply with remote-state scope-of-practice and jurisprudence requirements. Potential points of contention include the Commission’s authority to issue binding rules, the sharing of licensure and investigative data across states, the treatment of encumbered licenses and disciplinary history, and the extent to which compact rules supersede conflicting state laws. The bill also includes special provisions for military members and spouses, which may be viewed as a workforce-support feature rather than a point of dispute.