Sen. Everitt files bill in North Carolina Senate to enhance community safety policies

The new bill filed by Sen. Everitt seeks to enhance law enforcement policies and support community safety initiatives across North Carolina, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 454 on March 24 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Community Safety Act.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill, titled the Community Safety Act, seeks to enhance law enforcement policies and standards while allocating funds for various initiatives and programs, with some parts effective July 1, 2025. It mandates the Department of Justice to help agencies obtain grant funds and allocates $1 million for hiring grant writers. An additional $1 million is designated for community policing support. The bill appropriates $1.5 million to incentivize exemplary service and diversity in law enforcement, capping individual grants at $10,000. It revises police use of force policies, classifying certain restraints as deadly force, and mandates minimum force application and de-escalation tactics. The Attorney General will develop uniform use of force policies by Dec. 1, 2025. The bill sets a minimum age of 21 for law enforcement officers and specifies conditions under which certification can be affected by criminal convictions, effective Jan. 1, 2026. A $2 million allocation supports investigative positions for serious crimes. A severability clause ensures the bill’s provisions remain valid if parts are invalidated.

Of the three sponsors of this bill, Lisa Grafstein proposed the most bills (45) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Everitt graduated from Rutgers University in 1997 with a BA and again in 2001 from Columbus School of Law with a JD.

Everitt, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2025 to represent the state’s 18th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Mary Wills Bode.