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HB 52

State's right of appeal in criminal cases.

2025 Regular Session

The bill makes it a felony to throw, spray, or project substances at public safety officers or their working animals while on duty, expanding who qualifies as an officer.

H:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to HR 5-4
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Bill Summary · HB 52

HB 52 — "Protect Those Who Serve and Protect Act of 2025"

Status (as provided): Regular Message Sent to Senate. Introduced: August 15, 2025 (bill materials show multiple readings and committee substitutes in 2025).

Purpose / Intent

The bill creates new criminal protections for public safety officers (and certain working animals) by making it a felony to throw, spray, or otherwise project water or other substances at them while they are performing official duties or because of their status. It also consolidates and amends related assault and laser-use statutes to reflect a broader, updated definition of “public safety officer.”

Key provisions

  • Creates a new statutory offense (G.S. 14‑34.7A): intentionally throwing, spraying, or projecting water or any other substance at
    • a public safety officer while discharging (or attempting to discharge) official duties or because of the officer’s status; or
    • a law‑enforcement or search‑and‑rescue animal while working or because of the animal’s status.
    • Punishment: a Class I felony (unless covered by another law providing greater punishment).
  • Expands and standardizes the definition of “public safety officer” used across Article 8 of Chapter 14 to include (depending on the bill edition/committee substitute):
    • law enforcement officers, probation/parole officers, detention facility employees, telecommunicators, firefighters/rescue squad workers, EMS personnel, hospital and other emergency health‑care staff, members of the NC National Guard and U.S. Armed Forces, juvenile court counselors, emergency management workers, and school employees/volunteers.
  • Amends criminal‑use‑of‑laser statute (G.S. 14‑34.8) to treat intentional pointing of a laser at a public safety officer or covered animal as unlawful (keeps prior protections for heads/faces of others).
  • Revises felony assault provisions (e.g., G.S. 14‑32, 14‑34.2, 14‑34.5) to use the broader “public safety officer” definition and to align penalties; the bill also repeals or replaces overlapping provisions (e.g., G.S. 14‑34.6 in some editions).
  • Offenses are tied to conduct occurring (1) while the officer/animal is performing duties or (2) motivated by the victim’s status.

Who would be affected

  • Primary beneficiaries: public safety personnel across multiple categories (law enforcement, corrections, fire/rescue, EMS, certain hospital and school staff, emergency management, National Guard, etc.) and law‑enforcement/search‑and‑rescue animals.
  • Those potentially subject to prosecution: civilians who intentionally throw/spray substances or point lasers at covered persons/animals under the covered circumstances.
  • State and local criminal justice systems (courts, prosecutors, public defenders, corrections) — potential increase in charged cases and associated workload.

Fiscal / operational impacts (expected)

  • Likely modest but nontrivial increases in criminal filings, prosecutions, and potential incarceration costs if prosecutions result in felony convictions. The documents provided do not include a formal fiscal note for this specific NC bill; fiscal effects will depend on enforcement and prosecutorial practices.
  • Law enforcement and local governments may incur some additional training/recording/reporting costs to implement statutes and document covered incidents.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Multiple bill drafts and committee substitutes appeared in early 2025 (first through multiple committee substitutes). Committee Substitute versions expanded definitions and refined penalties in some cases.
  • As provided, status is “Regular Message Sent to Senate.” The bill underwent committee consideration and substitution activity in 2025; subsequent Senate action would determine final passage and enactment timing.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a side‑by‑side comparison of the introduced text and most recent committee substitute to show exact changes; or
- Draft a short fiscal-impact checklist of likely state/local budget consequences.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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