RALEIGH — Two pieces of legislation designed to protect first-responders and more severely punish people who would harm them or put them in danger are making their way through the General Assembly.
House Bill 283, titled “Conner’s Law,” was approved Wednesday by Senate Judiciary Committee. Rep. Brenden Jones is the primary sponsor of the bill that now goes to the Senate Committee on Pensions and Retirement and Aging. “Conner’s Law” was approved by the House on March 20 by a vote of 119 to 0.
“This is a very special bill to me. It’s a good first step to honor those who protect us every day. This bill reflects the state’s dedication to law enforcement and we want them to know that we have their back and that we have zero tolerance for anyone who seeks to harm them,” said Jones, a Republican who represents parts of Robeson and Columbus counties.
Senate Bill 29, titled the “Officer Jason Quick Act,” was referred for a second time to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday. The legislation sponsored by Sen. Danny Britt Jr., a Republican from Lumberton, was approved by the full Senate on Feb. 21.
Should Conner’s Law be signed into law it would:
— Increase the penalty for assaulting a law enforcement officer, probation officer, or parole officer with a firearm from a Class E felony to a Class D felony.
— Increase the penalty for assaulting emergency personnel and causing serious bodily injury or using a deadly weapon from a Class H felony to a Class G felony.
— Increase the penalty for assaulting emergency personnel and using a firearm from a Class F felony to a Class E felony.
— Provide an additional death benefit for public safety employees who are murdered in the line of duty.
— Make a technical correction to a related provision in existing law and make it effective retroactively to the original effective date of the provision.
The “Officer Jason Quick Act” calls for anyone convicted of not slowing down and changing lanes to move away from an accident who then causes an accident and more than $500 worth of property damage or injury to an emergency responder or law enforcement officer to face a Class I felony. That could mean three months to a year in jail.
The penalty for a driver who violated the law and caused the death of an emergency responder or law enforcement officer would be a Class F felony, with the possibility of 10 to 41 months in jail.
Violators under the current Move Over law face a Class 1 misdemeanor and a possible fine. Britt says law enforcement officers and emergency responders deserve more protection under the law.
“These jobs are dangerous enough as it is, and we have to do our part to make it safe for them,” Britt said in the days before he introduced the legislation.
“Conner’s Law” is named in honor of Kevin Conner, a state Highway Patrol trooper who was killed in the line of duty last year while making a routine traffic stop in Columbus County. He was a graduate of the Basic Law Enforcement program at Robeson Community College and worked previously as a Lumberton police officer.
The “Officer Jason Quick Act” is named in honor of Lumberton police Officer Jason Quick, who was 31 years old when he died on Dec. 15 after being struck by a vehicle while working an accident at Exit 22 on Interstate 95.
Britt filed a companion piece to “Conner’s Law” in the Senate, where it received full approval and was sent to the House. It has been in the House Rules Committee since March 13.
Britt and Jones discussed what should happen with the legislation.
“We agreed that the House bill, ‘Conner’s Law,’ should be the legislation that moves forward,” Britt said Wednesday.
In turn, it was agreed that Britt’s “Quick Act” would take legislative preference over Jones’ companion legislation.
