AN ACT to amend the emergency pension fund for law enforcement officers in mecklenburg county.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Chapter 709 of the 1965 Session Laws and Chapter 305 of the 1967 Session Laws are repealed.
SECTION 2.  Chapter 446 of the Public‑Local Laws of 1931, as amended by Section 28.26 of Chapter 18 of the 1996 Second Extra Session, reads as rewritten:
"Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Emergency Pension Fund for Sworn Law Enforcement Officers of Mecklenburg County." This act shall apply to all  sworn law enforcement officers employed by any city, county, or town law enforcement agency in Mecklenburg County engaged in the enforcement of the criminal laws of the State of North Carolina within the County of  Mecklenburg who are killed or permanently injured while in the discharge of their official duties.
Sec. 2. "Law enforcement officers" shall be deemed to include all State-certified sworn peace officers employed in any city, county, or town law enforcement agency in Mecklenburg County who are required by the terms of their employment to give their full time to the enforcement of laws,  the protection of life and  property, and the detection and prevention of crime. "Law enforcement officers" shall also be deemed to include any reserve officer of an agency of Mecklenburg County and any detention officer employed by the Sheriff of Mecklenburg County.Sec. 3. That the Mayor of the City of Charlotte, the Chief of Police of the  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, the Sheriff of Mecklenburg County,  or their designees, and their successors in office be and they are hereby constituted members ex officio of a board to be known as  "The Emergency Pension Fund for Sworn Law Enforcement Officers of Mecklenburg County", to administer the provisions of this act and said board shall elect its own chairman and appoint an officer of the Board to be known as "Commissioner of the Emergency Pension Fund for Sworn Law Enforcement Officers of Mecklenburg County", who shall also act as Secretary and Treasurer of the Board and shall act under the instructions of the Board in all matters pertaining to the administration of this act. And the Board shall require the Secretary and Treasurer to give good and sufficient bond, the amount to be determined in the discretion of the Board, for the proper performance of his duties as such. The premium of said bond shall be paid out of the fund herein provided for. Each ex officio member of the board may appoint an employee of the member's agency to act as the member's designee. The designee shall have the authority to cast a binding vote on behalf of the ex officio member.

Sec. 5. The funds accumulated under this act shall be known as  "The Emergency Pension Fund for Sworn Law Enforcement Officers of Mecklenburg County", and shall be used as a fund for all  law enforcement officers, as defined in Section 2 of this act, and their families, under the following terms and conditions:
(1)	If a law enforcement officer is killed while in the actual performance of the officer's duties, then the Board may pay from the Fund the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) as a death benefit to the surviving spouse of the deceased officer. If the law enforcement officer is not married at the time of death, the Board may pay the death benefit to the nearest dependent next of kin of the deceased.
(2)	If the law enforcement officer is permanently and totally physically disabled due to a physical injury received in the actual performance of the officer's duties, then the Board may pay from the Fund to the law enforcement officer the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). In the event the law enforcement officer is temporarily and totally physically disabled due to a physical injury received in the performance of the officer's duties, then the Board may pay from the Fund to the law enforcement officer a disability supplement of five hundred dollars ($500.00) a month during the time that the officer is temporarily and totally disabled up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). In any event, a temporarily or permanently physically disabled law enforcement officer shall not receive more than that ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3)	If a law enforcement officer is killed while in the actual performance of the officer's duties or is permanently and totally disabled, then the Board may award college scholarships to the officer's children up to a maximum amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). Such scholarships may be awarded if the child is between the ages of 17 and 22 and has been accepted or is attending a fully accredited college or university.
Sec. 6. The Board created under the provisions of this act shall serve without compensation. The Secretary and Treasurer of said Board shall receive such compensation as may be provided by the Board not to exceed the sum of fifty ($50.00) dollars per month, and the said Board shall have full power and authority to pay all expenses for administering this act including the purchase of supplies, legal advice, etc., out of the fund provided for herein. The Board shall have authority to make such rules, regulations and provisions as may be necessary to the proper administration of this act. The Board may retain an investment firm to manage the Fund and upon a unanimous vote of the Board may increase the amount of the maximum lump sum payments by up to ten percent (10%) once every five years.
Sec. 8. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed, and if any section hereof be decided by the Courts to be unconstitutional or invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of this act as a whole or any part thereof, other than the part decided to be unconstitutional or invalid.
Sec. 9. This act shall be in force and effect from and after the first day of June, one thousand nine hundred and thirty‑one, but disbursement of funds in accordance with the act, except for necessary expenses of administration, and organization, shall not commence until the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred and thirty‑one."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2003.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16th day of July, 2003.

	s/	 Marc Basnight
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Richard T. Morgan
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives