House committee substitute makes the following changes to the 1st edition.

Amends the definition of occupational licensing board in GS 93B-1 to define the term to mean any board, committee, commission, or other agency in North Carolina which receives no General Fund revenue and is given statutory authority to: (1) determine minimum qualifications required for licensure for a particular profession or occupation, (2) issue licenses to qualified applicants, (3) regulate the conduct of licensees within a particular profession or occupation, (4) seek injunctive relief to prohibit licensed individuals or entities from engaging in certain activities as defined by statute, and (5) collect fees to support agency operations. Establishes that occupational licensing boards include only those boards specifically identified in new subsection (b), setting forth an exclusive list of 58 occupational licensing boards. Further prohibits adding additional boards or commissions to the list without first having been approved by the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee as being necessary in that the profession subject to licensure affects the health, safety, or welfare of the public and that the mandatory licensure is necessary to ensure minimum standards of competency so as to protect the public from unqualified persons or unprofessional conduct by persons or entities practicing in the profession.

Amends GS 93B-2, setting forth provisions for annual reports by each occupational licensing board (OLB), to require each OLB to electronically file an annual report by October 31 of each year with the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee, the Department of Commerce, the State Auditor, the Office of State Budget and Management, and the State Controller (currently, with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Joint Legislative Procedure Oversight Committee). Adds five items each OLB must include in the annual report in addition to the existing 11 requirements: (1) a financial report including the source and amount of all funds credited to the OLB and the purpose and amount of all funds disbursed during the previous fiscal year by the OLB; (2) the certification of a proper system of internal control and other financial information as required by GS 143D-7; (3) a report of all civil penalties, forfeitures, and fines collected and remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund pursuant to GS 115C-457.2; (4) specific information for each fee collected; and (5) a financial audit of the OLB's operations if the board has a budget of at least $50,000. Makes conforming changes to eliminate subsection (b), which requires an annual financial report to be submitted, as that financial report is required to be included in the annual report in accordance with subsection (a) as amended. Requires the annual reports to be posted on the website of the OLB. Makes clarifying change to direct the Joint Legislative Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee to review the reports submitted pursuant to this statute and notify any board that fails to file the reports required by this statute (currently, only directs the Committee to notify any board failing to file the required reports). Makes conforming changes to eliminate the requirement to submit a copy of annual financial audits to the State Auditor for boards with a budget of at least $50,000, as that requirement is now included in the annual report in accordance with subsection (a) as amended. 

Amends GS 93B-5 to establish that occupational licensing board members must receive compensation for their services per diem not to exceed $200 (currently, $100) for each day during which they are engaged in the official business of the board. 

Requires the complaint process provided for in proposed GS 93B-22 to be implemented and active on each board's website no later than January 1, 2018.

Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-457.2 (remittance of civil penalties, forfeitures, and fines to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund), GS 143C-9-4 (biennial report by the Office of State Budget and Management on fees charged by state entities), and GS 143D-7 (agency management responsibilities).

Amends GS 150B-38, setting out the scope of Article 3A of GS Chapter 150B (Other Administrative Hearings under the APA), to include occupational licensing boards as defined by GS 93B-1 (currently, occupational licensing agencies) and the Securities Division of the Department of the Secretary of State (currently not included) in the scope of the Article. 

Amends GS 150B-45, setting forth the procedure for seeking judicial review of a final decision under Article 4 of GS Chapter 150B, to allow a petition for review of any final decision other than a contested tax case to also be filed in the superior court of the county where the agency has its principal place of business (currently allows only for filing in the county where the person aggrieved by the administrative decision resides or, if the person resides outside the state, in the county where the contested case which resulted in the final decision was filed). Adds that the superior court can order a change of venue under GS 1-83 if a petitioner files a petition in a county other than as provided in subdivision (2) of subsection (a). Prohibits improper venue from being grounds for dismissal of the petition. 

Amends GS 86A-3 (qualifications for certificate as a registered barber) to require a person to have received a high school diploma or its equivalency or a high school graduation equivalency certificate and provided documentation thereof to the State Board of Barber Examiners (Board) to qualify for a certificate of registration as a registered barber. Makes conforming change to GS 86A-22 (licensing and regulating barber schools and colleges). Makes technical change.

Amends GS 143B-68, which sets out the membership of the Public Librarian Certification Commission (Commission), to eliminate the membership of the chairman of the North Carolina Association of Library Trustees from the Commission. Instead, increases the number of Commission members named by the Governor upon the nomination of the North Carolina Library Association from one to two members. Makes technical changes.

Makes conforming changes to the act's long title.