AN ACT to honor the life of gabe torres, a raleigh police officer whose life came to an end while he was on his way to work after a tragic act of violence on october 13, 2022, by expanding eligibility under the public safety employees' death benefits act to include individuals killed on the way to or from work.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 143‑166.2 reads as rewritten:

§ 143‑166.2.  Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Article:

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(9)        Official duties. – All duties to which an individual is assigned as part of the individual's job function. This term shall also include those duties performed by an individual while (i) en route to, engaged in, or returning from duty or training; (ii) in the course of responding to, engaged in, or returning from a call by the department of which the individual is a member; or (iii) in the course of responding to, engaged in, or returning from a call for assistance from any department or organization within the State of North Carolina or within a service area contiguous to the borders of the State of North Carolina when served or aided by a department from within the State of North Carolina. While within the State of North Carolina, any covered person who renders service or assistance, of his or her own volition, at the scene of an emergency, is performing his or her official duties when both of the following apply:

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SECTION 2.  Effective July 1, 2025, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of State Treasurer the sum of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) in recurring funds for both years of the 2025‑2027 fiscal biennium to be used for benefits under the Public Safety Employees' Death Benefits Act.

SECTION 3.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to applicable deaths of covered persons occurring on or after that date.