North Carolina SB 995: Fix Republican Failures on Public Safety Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 995

Short Title: Fix Republican Failures on Public Safety Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Grafstein and Batch (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
May 4, 2026
*S995-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE PAY INCREASES FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND 2
CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS, TO ESTABLISH MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR 3
PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL, AND TO ADDRESS THE STAFFING AND 4
RETENTION CRISIS CREATED BY REPUBLICAN FAILURES TO FUND PUBLIC 5
SAFETY. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
8
LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS 9
SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that: 10
(1) For years, North Carolina Republicans have controlled the General Assembly 11
and had every opportunity to invest in the men and women who keep our 12
communities safe and they have failed to do so. 13
(2) As a direct result of Republican inaction, North Carolina is experiencing a 14
severe public safety staffing crisis. Law enforcement agencies across North 15
Carolina are struggling to recruit and retain qualified officers due to 16
non-competitive pay, leading to dangerous understaffing in communities 17
statewide. 18
(3) North Carolina law enforcement officers and correctional officers are among 19
the lowest-paid in the region, lagging behind neighboring states, including 20
Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. 21
(4) High turnover and chronic understaffing compromise public safety and place 22
enormous strain on the officers who remain, contributing to burnout, mental 23
health challenges, and increased risk of on-the-job injury. 24
(5) The General Assembly has a responsibility to correct these Republican 25
failures, to invest in public safety, and to ensure North Carolina can recruit. 26
27
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER PAY INCREASES 28
SECTION 2.(a) Effective July 1, 2026, the annual salary of each sworn law 29
enforcement officer employed by the State of North Carolina shall be increased by seven 30
thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500). 31
SECTION 2.(b) The Office of State Human Resources shall establish a competitive 32
salary schedule for law enforcement officers that accounts for years of service, rank, and regional 33
cost-of-living and shall update this schedule not less than every two years. At minimum, the 34
entry-level salary for a State Highway Patrol trooper shall be no less than sixty-two thousand five 35
hundred dollars ($62,500) per year. 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 995-First Edition
SECTION 2.(c) The Department of State Treasurer, in consultation with the Office 1
of State Budget and Management, shall make available to counties and municipalities a grant 2
program to assist local governments in providing comparable pay increases to locally employed 3
law enforcement officers. 4
SECTION 2.(d) For purposes of this section, "law enforcement officer" has the same 5
meaning as "criminal justice officer," as defined in G.S. 17C-2, and includes sheriffs' deputies 6
and municipal police officers. 7
8
CORRECTIONAL OFFICER PAY INCREASES 9
SECTION 3.(a) Effective July 1, 2026, the minimum starting salary for a 10
correctional officer employed by the Department of Adult Correction shall be forty-five thousand 11
dollars ($45,000) per year. All currently employed correctional officers shall receive an annual 12
salary increase of eight thousand dollars ($8,000), effective July 1, 2026. 13
SECTION 3.(b) The Secretary of Adult Correction shall develop a retention 14
incentive program that provides: 15
(1) A retention bonus of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each 16
correctional officer who completes five years of service. 17
(2) A retention bonus of five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each correctional 18
officer who completes 10 years of service. 19
(3) Enhanced hazard pay of three thousand dollars ($3,000) per year for officers 20
assigned to facilities operating at or below seventy percent (70%) of 21
authorized staffing levels. 22
SECTION 3.(c) The Department of Adult Correction shall report to the Joint 23
Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety on vacancy rates and staffing 24
levels quarterly, beginning October 1, 2026. 25
26
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL 27
SECTION 4.(a) The General Assembly finds that: 28
(1) Law enforcement officers and correctional officers experience 29
disproportionately high rates of posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and 30
suicide compared to the general population. 31
(2) Stigma and lack of access to confidential services remain significant barriers 32
to officers seeking mental health treatment. 33
(3) Addressing officer mental health is inseparable from addressing officer 34
retention and public safety outcomes. 35
SECTION 4.(b) The State Health Plan, in coordination with the Department of 36
Health and Human Services and the Department of Adult Correction, shall: 37
(1) Ensure t