AN ACT to be entitled the gabe torres act, to expand those ELIGIBLE under the public safety employees' death benefits act, and to honor the life of gabe torres, a raleigh police officer whose life came to an end after a tragic act of violence on october 13, 2022, while he was on his way to 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.  This act is effective retroactively as of January 1, 2022, and applies to applicable deaths of covered persons occurring on or after that date when the covered person was en route to, engaged in, or returning from duty at the time of the covered person's death.