Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to the 2nd edition.

Amends the act's short and long titles.

Deletes all of the provisions of the previous edition and replaces it with the following.

Amends GS 7A-52, concerning the recall of retired judges for active service, enacting new subsection (a1), which allows an emergency superior court judge to be recalled to active service by the Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court to hear and decide complex business cases if certain conditions are met, including (1) the judge is a special superior court judge who is retiring from a term to which the judge was appointed as specified; (2) the judge is retiring from a term for which he or she was assigned by the Chief Justice to hear complex business cases; (3) the judge's nomination to serve a successive term in the same office is pending before the General Assembly or was not acted on before adjournment sine die; and (4) if confirmed and appointed to the successive term of office for which nominated, the judge would reach the mandatory retirement age before completing that term of office. Provides that any emergency judge assigned as specified above will be designated as a senior business court judge and will remain eligible to serve in that capacity for five years from the issuance date of the judge's commission as an emergency judge or until the judge's commission expires, whichever occurs first.  Adds language to subsection (b) concerning pay, providing that recalled judges serving as senior business court judges are entitled to $500 per day in addition to the judge's expenses for each day of active service during recall. Provides that such judges cannot overlap days of serving as a senior business court judge and regular superior court judge. Effective when law, applying to judges that retire on or after that date.

Amends GS 7A-57 concerning the recall of active and emergency trial judges that have reached the mandatory retirement age, adding new subdivision (7) to allow recalled emergency judges that have served as a senior business court judge and whose commission expired on the mandatory retirement age to be recalled by the Chief Justice and assigned to hear complex business cases as a senior business court judge for up to five years from the issuance of their commission pursuant to GS 7A-53. Makes technical changes. Effective when law, applying to judges that reach the mandatory retirement age on or after that date.

Amends GS 7A-45.3, concerning superior court judges designated for complex business cases, adding language that provides that if there is more than one business court judge or senior business court judge, the Chief Justice can designate one of them as the Chief Business Court Judge (previously, designation would be as senior business court judge, but this change reflects new language that requires recalled judges to be designated as Senior business court judges). Makes conforming changes. 

Amends GS 7A-45.4(c) and GS 135-71(c), making conforming changes.