Subcommittee advances bill letting Catawba Nation join police retirement system after limited sovereign-immunity waiver

The Retirement Subcommittee for Finance on the record advanced S.127, a bill that would allow the Catawba Nation to join the state Police Officers Retirement System after the Nation applies to the retirement board and agrees to be subject to the system’s laws and dispute resolution.

Senator Johnson, the bill’s sponsor, told the panel the measure aims to help the Nation recruit and retain police officers. “Imagine if you can for a second living in an area that every time you hire law enforcement … you can't give them benefits, because they can't get in any retirement system,” Senator Johnson said, arguing that access to retirement benefits is necessary to retain officers.

Olivia, a staff presenter, summarized the bill’s mechanics: it would add the Catawba Nation to the statutory definition of an employer for the Police Officers…