A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the emergency pension fund for law enforcement officers in mecklenburg county.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Section 5 of Chapter 446 of the Public‑Local Laws of 1931, as amended by Section 28.26 of Chapter 18 of the 1996 Session Laws of the Second Extra Session, and S.L. 2003‑323 reads as rewritten:
"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 twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000) 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 twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000). 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 twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000). In any event, a temporarily or permanently physically disabled law enforcement officer shall not receive more than that twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000).(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 twenty‑five thousand dollars ($25,000). 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.
(4)	If a law enforcement officer is killed while in the actual performance of the officer's duties, then the Board may send up to one hundred dollars ($100.00) to each surviving child on the birthday of the deceased law enforcement officer."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.