GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

S	2 

SENATE BILL 180
Finance Committee Substitute Adopted 5/2/95

Short Title:  ESC/Annual Reports.	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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February 13, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM PAYMENT DUE TO THE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION FROM ONE DOLLAR TO FIVE DOLLARS, TO AUTHORIZE CERTAIN BUSINESSES TO FILE ANNUAL REPORTS WITH THE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION RATHER THAN QUARTERLY REPORTS, AND TO AUTHORIZE CERTAIN BUSINESSES THAT ARE ALLOWED TO FILE ANNUAL REPORTS TO FILE BY TELEPHONE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Effective September 30, 1995, G.S. 96-9(a)(6) reads as rewritten:
"(6)	If the amount of the contributions shown to be due after all credits is less than five dollars ($5.00), no payment need be made.  If an employer has paid contributions, penalties, and/or interest in excess of the amount due, this shall be considered an overpayment and refunded provided no other debts are owed to the Commission by the employer.  Overpayments of less than five dollars ($5.00) shall be refunded only upon receipt by the Chairman of a written demand for such refund from the employer.  Nothing herein shall be construed to change or extend the limitation set forth in G.S. 96-10(e), (f), and (i)."
Sec. 2.  Effective September 30, 1995, G.S. 96-9(a) is amended by adding the following two new subdivisions to read:
"(8)	An employer who has filed reports with the Commission for at least three consecutive years and has not been liable for quarterly contributions under G.S. 96-9(a)(6) during the preceding calendar year may be given permission by the Chair of the Commission to file reports once a year on or before the last day of the month following the close of the calendar year in which the wages are paid.  Permission to file a report annually will be automatically revoked if the employer is found liable to the Commission for quarterly contributions under G.S. 96-9(a)(6) or if the information on the last report concerning an employee's identity, address, or wage changes.
		An employer who is granted permission to file annual reports will be required to comply with 20 CFR section 603.21 so that reporting of wages and employment status are as effective and timely as the quarterly wage reporting system.  Such compliance includes the reporting of all changes in employment status and in wages of the employee to the Commission within 14 days of the occurrence and responding to all inquiries from the Commission as to wages paid to an employee in a year in which the employer is reporting on an annual basis within 14 days of the postmark of the inquiry.  If an employer does not report or respond to an inquiry within 14 days, then the Commission will estimate wages paid to an employee based on the last report the employer filed with the Commission, and the employer will be liable for any charge based on the Commission's estimation of the wages paid to the employee.
(9)	Employers who are granted permission under G.S. 96-9(a)(8) to file annual reports may be given permission to file reports by telephone.  Employers who report by telephone must contact either the Field Tax Auditor who is assigned to the employer's account or the Unemployment Insurance Division in Raleigh and report the required information to that Auditor or to the Division by the date the report is due under G.S. 96-9(a)(8) of this subsection."
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.