GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 3
HOUSE BILL 258
Committee Substitute Favorable 3/19/25
Third Edition Engrossed 4/9/25
Short Title: Utility Worker Protection Act. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 4, 2025
*H258 -v-3*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO INCREASE T HE PUNISHMENT FOR CO MMITTING AN ASSAULT 2
AGAINST A UTILITY, COMMUNICATIONS, OR TR ANSPORTATION WORKER . 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. G.S. 14-33(c) reads as rewritten: 5
"(c) Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater 6
punishment, any person who commits any assault, assault and battery, or affray is guilty of a 7
Class A1 misdemeanor if, in the course of the assault, assault and battery, or affray, he or she:he 8
or she does any of the following: 9
(1) Inflicts serious injury upon another person or uses a deadly weapon;weapon. 10
(2) Assaults a female, he being a male person at least 18 years of age;age. 11
(2a) Assaults a pregnant woman;woman. 12
(3) Assaults a child under the age of 12 years;years. 13
(4) Assaults an officer or employee of the State or any political subdivision of the 14
State, when the officer or employee is discharging or attempting to discharge 15
his or her official duties;duties. 16
… 17
(7) Assaults a public transit operator, including a public employee or a private 18
contractor employed as a public transit operator, when the operator is 19
discharging or attempting to discharge his or her duties. 20
… 21
(9) Assaults a transportation network company (TNC) driver providing a 22
transportation network company (TNC) service. For the purposes of this 23
subdivision, the definitions for "TNC driver" and "TNC service" as defined in 24
G.S. 20-280.1 shall apply. 25
(10) Assaults a utility or communications worker while the worker is (i) readily 26
identifiable as a worker and (ii) discharging or attempting to discharge his or 27
her duties. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "utility or 28
communications worker" means an employee of, agent of, or under contract 29
with an organization, entity, or company, whether State created or privately, 30
municipally, county, or cooperatively owned, that provides electricity, natural 31
gas, liquid petroleum, water, wastewater, telecommunications services, or 32
internet access services. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "readily 33
identifiable as a worker" shall be construed to include the worker wearing, at 34
the time of the assault, a uniform, hat, or other outerwear bearing the logo of 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 258-Third Edition
the utility or communications company for which the worker is an employee 1
of, agent of, or under contract with." 2
SECTION 1.1. Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 3
section to read: 4
"§ 14-32.6. Felony assaults, batteries, and affrays; punishments. 5
Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater 6
punishment, any person who commits any assault, assault and battery, or affray is guilty of a 7
Class I felony if, in the course of the assault, assault and battery, or affray, he or she: 8
(1) Assaults a public transit operator, including a public employee or a private 9
contractor employed as a public transit operator, when the operator is 10
discharging or attempting to discharge his or her duties. 11
(2) Assaults a transportation network company (TNC) driver providing a 12
transportation network company (TNC) service. For the purposes of this 13
subdivision, the definitions for "TNC driver" and "TNC service" as defined in 14
G.S. 20-280.1 shall apply." 15
SECTION 2. Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this 16
act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act 17
remain applicable to those prosecutions. 18
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to offenses 19
committed on or after that date. 20