---
type: "Bill"
title: "Protect Those Who Serve and Protect Act."
description: "Protect Those Who Serve and Protect Act."
jurisdiction: "us/states/nc"
legislature: "North Carolina General Assembly"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 34"
citation: "North Carolina HB 34 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["ADULT CORRECTION DEPT.", "AMBULANCES", "ANIMALS", "ARMED FORCES", "CHAPTERED", "CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS", "CRIMES", "EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES", "EMERGENCY SERVICES", "FIREFIGHTERS & FIREFIGHTING", "LAW ENFORCEMENT", "LAW ENFORCEMENT ANIMALS", "LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS", "NATIONAL GUARD", "PERSONNEL", "PRESENTED", "PUBLIC", "PUBLIC SAFETY DEPT.", "RATIFIED", "WEAPONS", "WORKING ANIMALS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Carson Smith", "Hastings", "Saine"]
version_count: 8
action_count: 34
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2023-01-30"
last_action: "2023-07-07"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5fc307b9-db9f-4866-acd1-ea6d91dcce53"
source_url: "https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/H34"
source_hash: "56b6c2d5e8b8400bd838ce1a8ace2d31ada00f1e80dab9c10666518de3f756cd"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nc"]
---

# North Carolina HB 34 (2023) — Protect Those Who Serve and Protect Act.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Filed** (filed) — [source](https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H34v0.pdf)
2. **A1: ACE-86-V-1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewBillDocument/2023/6455/0/H34-ACE-86-V-1)
3. **Edition 1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H34v1.pdf)
4. **Edition 2** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H34v2.pdf)
5. **Edition 3** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H34v3.pdf)
6. **Edition 4** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H34v4.pdf)
7. **Ratified** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H34v5.pdf)
8. **SL 2023-76** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H34v6.pdf)

## Sponsors

- Carson Smith — primary (person)
- Hastings — primary (person)
- Saine — primary (person)
- Adams — cosponsor (person)
- Arp — cosponsor (person)
- B. Jones — cosponsor (person)
- Balkcom — cosponsor (person)
- Biggs — cosponsor (person)
- Bradford — cosponsor (person)
- Cairns — cosponsor (person)
- Chesser — cosponsor (person)
- Clampitt — cosponsor (person)
- Cleveland — cosponsor (person)
- Crutchfield — cosponsor (person)
- Davis — cosponsor (person)
- Dixon — cosponsor (person)
- Faircloth — cosponsor (person)
- Goodwin — cosponsor (person)
- Greene — cosponsor (person)
- Hardister — cosponsor (person)
- Humphrey — cosponsor (person)
- Iler — cosponsor (person)
- Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- K. Baker — cosponsor (person)
- Kidwell — cosponsor (person)
- Loftis — cosponsor (person)
- Logan — cosponsor (person)
- Lowery — cosponsor (person)
- Miller — cosponsor (person)
- Mills — cosponsor (person)
- Moss — cosponsor (person)
- N. Jackson — cosponsor (person)
- Penny — cosponsor (person)
- Pike — cosponsor (person)
- Potts — cosponsor (person)
- Pyrtle — cosponsor (person)
- Reeder — cosponsor (person)
- Riddell — cosponsor (person)
- Ross — cosponsor (person)
- Sossamon — cosponsor (person)
- Strickland — cosponsor (person)
- Tyson — cosponsor (person)
- Ward — cosponsor (person)
- Wheatley — cosponsor (person)
- White — cosponsor (person)
- Willingham — cosponsor (person)
- Winslow — cosponsor (person)
- Zenger — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-07-07** Ch. SL 2023-76 `became-law`
- **2023-07-07** Signed by Gov. 7/7/2023 `executive-signature`
- **2023-06-28** Pres. To Gov. 6/28/2023 `executive-receipt`
- **2023-06-28** Ratified
- **2023-06-27** Ordered Enrolled
- **2023-06-27** Concurred In S Com Sub `amendment-passage`
- **2023-06-27** Added to Calendar
- **2023-06-27** Cal Pursuant 36(b)
- **2023-06-26** Regular Message Received For Concurrence in S Com Sub
- **2023-06-26** Regular Message Sent To House
- **2023-06-22** Engrossed
- **2023-06-22** Passed 3rd Reading `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-06-22** Passed 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-06-22** Amend Adopted A1 `amendment-passage`
- **2023-06-21** Reptd Fav `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-06-14** Re-ref Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate `referral-committee`
- **2023-06-14** Com Substitute Adopted
- **2023-06-14** Reptd Fav Com Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-05-18** Re-ref to Judiciary. If fav, re-ref to Rules and Operations of the Senate `referral-committee`
- **2023-05-18** Withdrawn From Com
- **2023-02-27** Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-27** Passed 1st Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-02-27** Regular Message Received From House
- **2023-02-23** Regular Message Sent To Senate
- **2023-02-22** Passed 3rd Reading `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-22** Passed 2nd Reading `reading-2`
- **2023-02-21** Placed On Cal For 02/22/2023
- **2023-02-21** Cal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
- **2023-02-21** Reptd Fav `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-02-15** Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-15** Reptd Fav Com Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-01-31** Ref to the Com on Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House `referral-committee`
- **2023-01-31** Passed 1st Reading `reading-1`
- **2023-01-30** Filed `introduction`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/5fc307b9-db9f-4866-acd1-ea6d91dcce53`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official North Carolina legislature records).