North Carolina Senate Bill S539

North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/25/25
• Refer: 3/26/25

Caption

NC Utility Worker Protection Act

Summary

Senate Bill 539, the North Carolina Utility Worker Protection Act, increases criminal penalties for assaults involving utility workers. The bill adds a new category to the state’s misdemeanor assault statute so that a person who assaults a utility worker while the worker is performing or attempting to perform duties is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor, unless a greater punishment already applies. It defines “utility worker” broadly to include employees or contractors of entities providing gas, heat, electricity, water, telecommunications, sewer, cable or video, internet, and railroad services, whether publicly or privately owned. The bill also revises the state’s felony assault statute to include utility workers among the protected classes for assaults with a deadly weapon. Under the amended law, assault with a deadly weapon on a utility worker performing official duties would be a Class E felony, again unless another law provides a greater penalty. The act applies only to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2025, and preserves prosecutions for conduct occurring before that date.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would amend G.S. 14-33 and G.S. 14-34.2 to create enhanced criminal penalties for assaults against utility workers and to align those protections with existing protections for certain government employees, TNC drivers, company police officers, and campus police officers. It would expand the scope of protected workers in North Carolina criminal law and could affect prosecutions involving assaults on utility personnel across a wide range of service industries.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be framed as a worker-safety and public-protection bill, with no recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials. The sponsorship and title suggest a generally supportive posture toward protecting utility workers from violence while they are on the job. No contrary positions are documented in the supplied record.

Contention

The main policy issue is the breadth of the definition of “utility worker,” which covers a wide range of public, private, municipal, county, and cooperative service providers, including telecommunications, internet, cable, and railroad-related workers. Another point of possible contention is whether the bill appropriately increases criminal penalties by creating a new Class A1 misdemeanor category and extending felony assault protections, or whether existing assault laws already provide sufficient punishment. No specific objections or supporters are identified in the provided transcripts or vote history.