RALEIGH, N.C. -- The North Carolina legislature has agreed to raise current criminal penalties against people who assault law enforcement officers with a gun and emergency service workers who are seriously attacked while performing their duties.

The House gave final legislative approval on Wednesday to the measure named in memory of state Trooper Kevin Conner. He was fatally shot in October 2018 while stopping a pickup truck on a Columbus County road for a speeding violation. Two people are awaiting trial in his death.

The bill now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper's desk.

The measure also would provide an additional $100,000 death benefit to the survivors of a public safety employee who is "murdered in the line of duty." That benefit would be retroactive to such deaths since July 2016.