NC Utility Worker Protection Act.

SB 539, the North Carolina Utility Worker Protection Act, increases criminal penalties for assaulting utility workers while they perform their duties. It upgrades such assaults to a Class A1 misdemeanor (from lower-level offenses) and adds specific felony charges if deadly weapons are used. The bill defines "utility worker" broadly to include employees providing gas, electricity, water, internet, cable, telecommunications, sewer, or railroad services, covering both public and private sector workers. The law applies to offenses occurring on or after December 1, 2025, and does not affect prosecutions for acts before that date.