A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase the punishment for committing an assault against a utility worker.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  This act shall be known as "The North Carolina Utility Worker Protection Act."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑33 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑33.  Misdemeanor assaults, batteries, and affrays, simple and aggravated; punishments.
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(c)	Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment, any person who commits any assault, assault and battery, or affray is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor if, in the course of the assault, assault and battery, or affray, he or she:
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(9)	Assaults a transportation network company (TNC) driver providing a transportation network company (TNC) service. For the purposes of this subdivision, the definitions for "TNC driver" and "TNC service" as defined in G.S. 20‑280.1 shall apply.
(10)	Assaults a utility worker not otherwise covered under this subsection, when the utility worker is discharging or attempting to discharge his or her duties. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "utility worker" means any employee of, including any person employed by or under contract with, an organization, entity, or company, whether State‑created or privately, municipally, county, or cooperatively owned, that provides gas, heat, electricity, water, telecommunications services, sewer services, cable or video services, internet services, or railroad services.
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(d)	Any person who, in the course of an assault, assault and battery, or affray, inflicts serious injury upon another person, or uses a deadly weapon, in violation of subdivision (c)(1) of this section, on a person with whom the person has a personal relationship, and in the presence of a minor, is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor. A person convicted under this subsection, who is sentenced to a community punishment, shall be placed on supervised probation in addition to any other punishment imposed by the court.
A person committing a second or subsequent violation of this subsection shall be sentenced to an active punishment of no less than 30 days in addition to any other punishment imposed by the court.
The following definitions apply to this subsection:
	
(1)	In the presence of a minor. – Means that the minor was in a position to see or hear the assault.
(2)	Minor. – Any person under the age of 18 years who is residing with or is under the care and supervision of, and who has a personal relationship with, the person assaulted or the person committing the assault.
(3)	Personal relationship. – As defined in G.S. 50B‑1."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 14‑34.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑34.2.  Assault with a firearm or other deadly weapon upon governmental officers or employees, utility workers, company police officers, or campus police officers.
Unless a person's conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment, any person who commits an assault with a deadly weapon upon an officer or employee of the State or of any political subdivision of the State, a utility worker as defined in G.S. 14‑33, a company police officer certified pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 74E of the General Statutes, or a campus police officer certified pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 74G, Article 1 of Chapter 17C or Chapter 116 of the General Statutes, when the person is discharging or attempting to discharge his or her duties, is guilty of a Class E felony."
SECTION 4.  Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act remain applicable to those prosecutions.
SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.