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SB 216 Delaware Senate · 153rd General Assembly (2025-2026)

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO A RESPIRATORY CARE INTERSTATE COMPACT.

Summary
This Act adopts the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact (“Compact”). This Compact takes effect on the date on which this Compact is enacted into law in 7 states. As of January 2026, this Compact has been enacted in 5 states and has been filed in 6 other states. This Compact is an interstate occupational licensure compact for respiratory therapists. There are approximately 130,000 licensed respiratory therapists in the United States. Licensees currently face significant barriers providing services across state borders, even when they meet the qualifications to practice in another state. This Compact will facilitate multistate practice by reducing unnecessary licensure burdens and improve public safety by enhancing state information sharing.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
May 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
House Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Jan 28, 2026 Signed Jun 10, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SA 1 to SB 216 → Bill Text · 4 edits
MODERATE
The Senate Amendment 1 that proposed deleting Section 2 (the provision requiring the Director of Professional Regulation to publish notice when the 7th state enacts the Compact) was not adopted. The final Bill Text retains all original sections of the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact, including Section 2. Sponsors were expanded to include additional senators and representatives, and the synopsis was updated to reflect that as of January 2026 the Compact had been enacted in 5 states with 6 more filed.
Scope change
No change to the substantive scope of the Compact itself. The amendment to remove the administrative notice requirement (Section 2) was rejected, so Delaware retains the obligation for its Director of Professional Regulation to publish a formal notice when the 7th state enacts the Compact.
TECHNICAL

The amendment instruction to delete Section 2 in its entirety was removed from the document, meaning the notice provision requiring the Director of Professional Regulation to publish a Register of Regulations notice upon the 7th state's enactment remains in force.

The document was restructured from a Senate Amendment format back to full Bill Text format, restoring the complete statutory language of all Compact sections (1701C through 1713C) that had been omitted from the amendment document.

SCOPE

Additional sponsors were added: Rep. Harris as co-sponsor, plus Sens. Hoffner, Huxtable, Lockman, Pettyjohn, Richardson, Wilson and Reps. Berry, Carson, Yearick as additional supporters.

TIMELINE

The synopsis was updated: the SA 1 stated the Compact was effective as of April 1, 2026 and the notice provision was no longer needed, while the final Bill Text states the Compact had been enacted in 5 states as of January 2026 with 6 more filed, indicating the Compact had not yet reached the 7-state threshold at that time.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 23, 2026 · House May 21, 2026

How they voted

21–0
Passed
Total votes 21
Apr 23, 2026
D Democratic15
15 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican6
6 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
9
Key actions
6
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Jun 10, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by Governor
executive
May 21, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT
lower
May 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability)) in House with 3 On Its Merits
lower
Apr 30, 2026
Introduced
Assigned to Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability) Committee in House
lower
Apr 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
upper
Apr 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Amendment SA 1 to SB 216 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
upper
Apr 23, 2026
Introduced
Amendment SA 1 to SB 216 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
upper
Mar 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Out of Committee (Legislative Oversight & Sunset) in Senate with 3 Favorable
upper
Jan 28, 2026
Introduced
Introduced and Assigned to Legislative Oversight & Sunset Committee in Senate
upper
11 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Bill Carson
Bill Carson
DDemocratic
DE
28
P
Photo of Brian Pettyjohn
Brian Pettyjohn
RRepublican
DE
19
P
Photo of Bryant Richardson
Bryant Richardson
RRepublican
DE
21
P
Photo of Claire Snyder-Hall
Claire Snyder-Hall
DDemocratic
DE
14
P
Photo of Dave Wilson
Dave Wilson
RRepublican
DE
18
P
Photo of Eric Buckson
Eric Buckson
RRepublican
DE
16
P
Photo of Josue Ortega
Josue Ortega
DDemocratic
DE
3
P
Photo of Kerri Harris
Kerri Harris
DDemocratic
DE
32
P
Photo of Lyndon Yearick
Lyndon Yearick
RRepublican
DE
34
P
Photo of Russ Huxtable
Russ Huxtable
DDemocratic
DE
6
P
Photo of Stell Selby
Stell Selby
DDemocratic
DE
20