Contains whereas clauses.

Section 1.

Adds GS 136-44.28, requiring that all public transportation operators receiving State funds, including those specified, equip every revenue service vehicle, including each bus and each individual train car, with an emergency trauma response kit containing the six items described. Provides for mandated first aid and bleeding control training for public transit operators and supervisors, as described. Extends the immunity provided for in GS 90-21.14 to employees rendering first aid in good faith. Instructs the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in consultation with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Public Safety (DPS) to adopt minimum implementation standards to ensure consistency across public transportation systems.

Adds GS 136-44.29, requiring that all public transportation operators receiving State funds to implement reasonable and effective measures to deter and prevent fare evasion, including the five described. Requires each operator to adopt written fare enforcement policies that balance revenue protection, public safety, and equitable enforcement, to be made publicly available.

Appropriates $10 million from the General Fund to DOT in recurring funds for 2026-27 to implement the provisions of GS 136-44.28 and GS 136-44.29. Provides for distribution of funds by DOT and permissible described uses of funds.  Beginning by December 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, requires each public transportation operator receiving State funds to submit a report to the specified NCGA committees and division on fare evasion and enforcement measures, including the matters described. Tasks DOT with publishing a statewide summary report aggregating the data.  Requires DOT to report on the use of funds appropriated under this section, including the amounts distributed to each transit authority, the categories of expenditures, and the status of statewide compliance with the provisions of this section to the specified NCGA committees and division by December 1, 2027.

Effective July 1, 2026.

Section 2.

Starting in 2026-27, appropriates $30 million in recurring funds from the General Fund to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to be used to hire in Wake and Mecklenburg Counties assistant and deputy clerk of court positions. Directs AOC to determine the appropriate allocation of positions between the counties and, no later than 60 days after the allocation, provide a report to the specified NCGA committee and division on the number of positions allocated including its reasoning in determining those numbers.

Starting in 2026-27, appropriates $30 million in recurring funds from the General Fund to AOC, Budget Fund 100072 to be used to hire in Wake and Mecklenburg Counties assistant district attorney positions. Directs AOC to determine the appropriate allocation of positions between the counties and, no later than 60 days after the allocation, provide a report to the specified NCGA committee and division on the number of positions allocated including its reasoning in determining those numbers.

By no later than July 1, 2027, requires the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services (Division) in coordination with AOC to provide a report to the specified NCGA committees and division on the status of these appropriations, including the four matters described. Requires an updated report by December 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.

Section 3.

Starting in 2026-27, appropriates $250 million in recurring funds from the General Fund the Department of Adult Correction (DAC) for (i) salary increases for employees of the DAC to align with current market rates and attract and retain qualified employees and (ii) costs incurred from improving workplace safety. Specifies that for any funds used for salary increases, DAC must determine how to allocate the funds appropriated, and, no later than 60 days after the allocation, provide a report to the specified NCGA committee and division on the number allocated for salary increases, including its reasoning in determining those numbers.

Section 4.

Appropriates $40,482,480 for each year of the 2025-27 fiscal biennium from the General Fund to the Reserve for Compensation Increases, to be used for pay raises for the State Highway Patrol (SHP) & Law Enforcement Support Staff and to establish the pay scales set for in this section. Effective July 1, 2025.

Provides lists for an experience-based annual salary schedule for SHP law enforcement officers and for rank-based pay rates for those sworn SHP employees not subject to the experience-based annual salary schedule for the 2025-27 biennium. Effective July 1, 2025.

Section 5.

Starting in 2026-27, appropriates $25 million in recurring funds from the General Fund to DPS’s Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) to address staffing shortfalls and stabilize juvenile facility operations and juvenile court services, as described. Requires JJDP to report to the specified NCGA committee, chairs, and division on the use of funds and outcomes by March 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.

Section 6.

Starting in 2026-27, appropriates $4 million in recurring funds from the General Fund to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to support the State Crime Laboratory in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel in a competitive labor market, as described. Requires DOJ to report to the specified NCGA committee and division on the use of funds and outcomes by March 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.

Section 7.

Includes a correctional officer (defined) with respect to any service rendered on or after July 1, 2026, in the definition of law enforcement officer in GS 135-1 (definitions pertaining to the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System-TSERS). Defines correctional officer. Extends the special separation allowance options for State law enforcement officers set forth in GS 143-166.41 to individuals with credible service as a correctional officer if the service was prior to July 1, 2026.

Starting in 2026-27, appropriates $11 million in recurring funds from the General Fund to the Department of the State Treasurer to provide enhanced benefits described above. Effective July 1, 2026.