GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

S	1 

SENATE BILL 294

Short Title:  GPAC/Repeal HP Merit Pay.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senator Martin of Guilford.
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Referred to:  Government Performance Audit.
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February 22, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT A RECOMMENDATION OF THE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AUDIT COMMITTEE TO REPEAL THE AUTOMATIC MERIT PAY INCREASE FOR HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICERS AND TO MAKE MERIT PAY FOR HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICERS SUBJECT TO THE SAME BUDGETARY AND PERSONNEL EVALUATION PROCESSES AS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  The General Assembly finds that:
(1)	The special merit pay increase for Highway Patrol officers has created morale problems among other State law enforcement officers.  Morale problems arise when those other law enforcement officers whose performance would otherwise merit an increase do not receive increases when the budget does not provide funding for merit raises.
(2)	The special merit pay provision violates the principle that employees in similar jobs and operating at comparable levels of performance should be compensated similarly.
Sec. 2.  G.S. 20-187.3(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety shall not make or permit to be made any order, rule, or regulation requiring the issuance of any minimum number of traffic citations, or ticket quotas, by any member or members of the State Highway Patrol. Pay and promotions of members of the Highway Patrol shall be based on their overall job performance and not on the basis of the volume of citations issued or arrests made. Beginning July 1, 1993, the provisions of G.S. 126-7 shall apply to members of the State Highway Patrol."
Sec. 3.  The base budget of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety is reduced by one million one hundred thirty-seven thousand three hundred eighty-six dollars ($1,137,386) for the 1993-94 fiscal year and by two million three hundred seventy-nine thousand four hundred twelve dollars ($2,379,412) for the 1994-95 fiscal year due to the repeal of the automatic merit pay increase in Section 2 of this act.
Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1993.