A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT providing that each general assembly member is entitled to a full‑time legislative assistant or clerk who is a permanent legislative employee, directing the legislative services commission to grant to those employees the same benefits and privileges as other permanent legislative employees, and appropriating funds for that purpose.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 120‑32(1) reads as rewritten:
"§ 120‑32.  Commission duties.
The Legislative Services Commission is authorized to:
(1)	Determine the number, titles, classification, functions, compensation, and other conditions of employment of the joint legislative service employees of the General Assembly, including but not limited to the following departments:
a.	Legislative Services Officer and personnel.
b.	Electronic document writing system.
c.	Proofreaders.
d.	Legislative printing.
e.	Enrolling clerk and personnel.
f.	Library.
g.	Research and bill drafting.
h.	Printed bills.
i.	Disbursing and supply.
j.	Program evaluation.
k.	Full‑time legislative assistants and clerks assigned to members of the General Assembly for the entire term of office.
Temporary employees of the General Assembly are exempt from the provisions of G.S. 135‑3(8)c., as to compensation earned in that status."
SECTION 1.(b)  Article 7 of Chapter 120 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 120‑32.7.  Members entitled to full‑time legislative support staff assistance.
Each member of the General Assembly is entitled to have during the entire term of the member's office one legislative assistant or clerk who is a permanent full‑time legislative employee."
SECTION 2.  The Legislative Services Commission shall do all of the following in implementing the provisions of this act:
(1)	Provide that each member of the General Assembly during the member's term of office has a permanent full‑time legislative assistant or clerk assigned to the member for at least 40 hours per week unless the member opts to have a legislative assistant or clerk who is a full‑time temporary employee rather than a permanent full‑time employee.
(2)	Authorize legislative assistant or clerk working hours in excess of 40 hours per week to support members of the House of Representatives upon the approval of the Speaker of the House and to support Senate members upon the approval of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
(3)	Award permanent full‑time legislative assistants and clerks the same across‑the‑board salary increases, employee benefits, and other privileges extended to other permanent full‑time legislative employees.
SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the General Assembly the sum of one million four hundred thousand dollars ($1,400,000) for the 2013‑2014 fiscal year and the sum of one million four hundred thousand dollars ($1,400,000) for the 2014‑2015 fiscal year to carry out the purposes of this act.
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2013.