A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT To appropriate funds to establish seventy‑five new assistant district attorney positions throughout the state, to establish thirty-nine new victim witness assistant positions, to begin funding of an automated discovery system, and to provide additional steps in longevity pay for district attorneys and assistant district attorneys.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 7A‑60(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1)	The counties of the State are organized into prosecutorial districts, and each district has the counties and the number of full‑time assistant district attorneys set forth in the following table:
		No. of Full‑Time
		Prosecutorial		Asst. District
		District	Counties	Attorneys
	1	Camden, Chowan, Currituck,	 11
		Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
		Perquimans
	2	Beaufort, Hyde, Martin,	 7
		Tyrrell, Washington
	3A	Pitt	 10
	3B	Carteret, Craven, Pamlico	 11
	4	Duplin, Jones, Onslow,	 15
		Sampson
	5	New Hanover, Pender	 15
	6A	Halifax	 5
	6B	Bertie, Hertford,	 5
		Northampton
	7	Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson	 17
	8	Greene, Lenoir, Wayne	 12
	9	Franklin, Granville,	 12
		Vance, Warren
	9A	Person, Caswell	 5
	10	Wake	 36
	11	Harnett, Johnston, Lee	 18
	12	Cumberland	 21
	13	Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus	 12
	14	Durham	 15
	15A	Alamance	 9
	15B	Orange, Chatham	 8
	16A	Scotland, Hoke	 6
	16B	Robeson	 13
	17A	Rockingham	 6
	17B	Stokes, Surry	 6
	18	Guilford	 29
	19A	Cabarrus	 8
	19B	Montgomery, Moore, Randolph	 13	19C	Rowan	 7
	20	Anson, Richmond,	 19
		Stanly, Union
	21	Forsyth	 18	22	Alexander, Davidson, Davie,	 20
		Iredell
	23	Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes,	 7
		Yadkin
	24	Avery, Madison, Mitchell,	6
		Watauga, Yancey
	25	Burke, Caldwell, Catawba	 17
	26	Mecklenburg	 43
	27A	Gaston	 16
	27B	Cleveland,	 10
		Lincoln
	28	Buncombe	 13
	29	Henderson, McDowell, Polk,	 13			Rutherford, Transylvania
	30	Cherokee, Clay, Graham,	 10
		Haywood, Jackson, Macon,
		Swain."
SECTION 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Judicial Department the sum of six million one hundred sixty‑eight thousand nine hundred seventy‑five dollars ($6,168,975) for the 2005‑2006 fiscal year and the sum of five million eight hundred nineteen thousand four hundred dollars ($5,819,400) for the 2006‑2007 fiscal year to establish the 75 new assistant district attorney positions authorized by Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Judicial Department the sum of one million eight hundred forty thousand dollars ($1,840,000) for the 2005‑2006 fiscal year and the sum of one million seven hundred thousand dollars ($1,700,000) for the 2006‑2007 fiscal year to establish 39 new victim witness assistant positions.
SECTION 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Judicial Department the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) for the 2005‑2006 fiscal year to begin funding of an automated discovery system for the General Court of Justice.
SECTION 5.  G.S. 7A‑65 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑65.  Compensation and allowances of district attorneys and assistant district attorneys.
(a)	The annual salary of:
(1)	District attorneys shall be the midpoint amount between the salary of a senior resident superior court judge and the salary of a chief district court judge, as provided by law,
(2)	Full‑time assistant district attorneys shall be as provided in the Current Operations Appropriations Act.
When traveling on official business, each district attorney and assistant district attorney is entitled to reimbursement for his subsistence and travel expenses to the same extent as State employees generally.
(b)	Repealed by Session Laws 1985, c. 689, s. 2.
(c)	In lieu of merit and other increment raises paid to regular State employees, a district attorney shall receive as longevity pay an amount equal to four and eight‑tenths percent (4.8%) of the annual salary set forth in the Current Operations Appropriations Act payable monthly after five years of service, and nine and six‑tenths percent (9.6%) after 10 years of service, fourteen and four‑tenths percent (14.4%) after 15 years of service,  nineteen and two‑tenths percent (19.2%) after 20 years of  service, twenty‑four percent (24%) after 25 years of service, and twenty‑eight and eight‑tenths percent (28.8%) after 30 years of service. Service shall mean service in the elective position of a district attorney and shall not include service as a deputy or acting district attorney. Service shall also mean service as a justice or judge of the General Court of Justice, clerk of superior court, assistant district attorney, public defender, appellate defender, or assistant public or appellate defender.
(d)	In lieu of merit and other increment raises paid to regular State employees, an assistant district attorney shall receive as longevity pay an amount equal to four and eight‑tenths percent (4.8%) of the annual salary set forth in the Current Operations Appropriations Act payable monthly after five years of service, nine and six‑tenths percent (9.6%) after 10 years of service, fourteen and four‑tenths percent (14.4%) after 15 years of service, and nineteen and two‑tenths percent (19.2%) after 20 years of  service, twenty‑four percent (24%) after 25 years of service, and twenty‑eight and eight‑tenths percent (28.8%) after 30 years of service. "Service" means service as an assistant district attorney, district attorney, public defender, appellate defender, assistant public or appellate defender, justice or judge of the General Court of Justice, or clerk of superior court."
SECTION 6.  There is appropriated the sum of two hundred twenty‑one thousand eight hundred three dollars ($221,803) for the 2005‑2006 fiscal year and the sum of two hundred twenty‑one thousand eight hundred three dollars ($221,803) for the 2006‑2007 fiscal year to fund the additional longevity steps for district attorneys and assistant district attorneys established in Section 5 of this act.
SECTION 7.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2005.