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

Amends GS 96-5.1(a), providing that the funds in the Supplemental Employment Security Administration Fund consist of all interest and penalties paid under GS Chapter 96 on overdue contributions and any appropriations made to the fund by the General Assembly (GA). Further provides that penalties collected on unpaid taxes imposed by this section must be transferred to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund established in GS 115C-457.1.

Amends GS 96-9.2(b), as enacted by SL 2013-2, providing that, for the purposes of the standard beginning rate, an employer's account is considered chargeable with benefits for at least 12 calendar months if the employer has reported wages paid in four completed calendar quarters and its liability extends over all or part of two consecutive calendar years.

Amends GS 96-9.6(e), Annual reconciliation, to add that any amount in excess of the required 1% of taxable wages will be retained in the employer's account as a credit and will not be refunded to the employer.

Amends GS 96-9.6(i), as enacted by SL 2013-2, providing that if the employer's account balance on the computation date in 2014 does not equal 1% of its taxable wages reported for the preceding fiscal year (was, 2013 calendar year), the Division will bill the employer for the deficiency.

Amends GS 96-9.7(a), as enacted by SL 2013-2, making clarifying changes.

Amends GS 96-10(g), providing that written notices sent by the Division, pursuant to this subsection, can be by registered or certified mail.

Amends GS 96-11.2, as enacted by SL 2013-2, providing that benefits paid to an individual must be allocated to the account of each base period employer in the proportion that the base period wages paid to the individual in a calendar quarter by each base period employer bears to the total wages paid to the individual in the base period (was, that quarter) by all base period employers.

Amends GS 96-11.4(a), as enacted by SL 2013-2, providing that an employer or agent, in regards to relief for errors of noncompliance, cannot be determined to have a pattern of failing to respond to requests from the Division if the number of failures during the year prior to the request is fewer than two or less than 2% of the total requests (previously, only included less than 2% of the total requests) made to the employer or agent, whichever is greater (previously, did not include "whichever is greater").

Amends GS 96-14.9(d), as enacted by SL 2013-2, providing that an individual is not available to work during the work week when on disciplinary suspension for 30 or fewer days (was, less than 30 days) based on acts or omissions that constitute fault on the part of the employee and are connected with the work.

Amends GS 96-14.10, Disciplinary suspension, making a clarifying change.

Amends GS 96-15(b), as enacted by SL 2013-2, regarding adjudication of claims for benefits, providing that any interested employer will be allowed 14 days (was, 15 days) from the mailing or delivery of the notice of the filing of a claim against the employer's accounts, whichever first occurs, to file with the Division its protest of the claim in order to have the claim referred to an adjudicator for a decision on the question or issue raised. Makes conforming changes. Provides that no payment of benefits will be made by the Division to a claimant until one of the following occurs: (1) the employer has filed a timely protest to the claim, (2) the 14-day period for the filing of a protest by the employer has expired, or (3) a determination under this subdivision has been made.

Amends Section 11 of SL 2013-2, the enactment clause, providing that the requirements of GS 96-15(a1), as enacted by SL 2013-2 and amended by Section 14 of this act, apply to any week of an attached claim filed on or after June 30, 2013.

Amends GS 96-4(x)(6), GS 96-4(x)(7), GS 96-9.5(4)(c), GS 96-10(d), GS 96-14.14(c)(2), GS 96-14.14(c)(3), GS 96-14.14(e)(1), GS 96-14.14(g), GS 96-14.14(h), and GS 96-16(d), making technical and conforming changes to statute citations in the included provisions.