Lawmakers moved to restrict pensions for public officials who commit crimes while performing their official duties.

Senate Bill 719 passed unanimously from the House Pensions and Retirement Committee on Wednesday. It targets elected government officials convicted of a felony offense connected with their service. Convicted officials could collect only the amount of money they contributed to the retirement system plus interest. Nor could they count unused sick leave accumulated after July 2007 toward their retirement benefits.

The bill won’t block former Wake County Register of Deeds Laura Riddick from drawing a pension even though she pleaded guilty to embezzling almost $1 million from her office. But policymakers hope it will prevent other convicted officials from following Riddick’s example. A Wake County Register of Deeds office investigation found $2.3 million disappeared from the office from 2013 to 2017. Riddick pleaded guilty to six felony counts of embezzlement after prosecutors charged her with taking $926,615 from the office. She resigned and entered early retirement.

Director of the state Retirement Systems Division Steven Toole tried to terminate Riddick’s state pension in 2018 and claw back $126,290 she had reaped in the 20 months since her resignation. Riddick receives $89,000 a year in state pension money. But Riddick sued to keep her pension, saying she qualified for the money despite her felony convictions. Her lawsuit argued her unused sick leave made her eligible for early retirement. The lawsuit is pending.

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