A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify the employment security laws relating to required contributions.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 96‑9.2, as enacted by S.L. 2013‑2, reads as rewritten:
"§ 96‑9.2.  Required contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
(a)	Required Contribution. – An employer is required to make a contribution in each calendar year to the Unemployment Insurance Fund in an amount equal to the applicable percentage of the taxable wages the employer pays its employees during the year for services performed in this State. Taxable wages are determined in accordance with G.S. 96‑9.3. An employer may not deduct the contributions due in whole or in part from the remuneration of the individuals employed.The applicable percentage for an employer is considered the employer's contribution rate. An experience rate is determined by the following:
(1)	The balance in the Unemployment Insurance Fund as of the computation date, expressed as a percentage of total insured wages. "Total insured wages" are the total wages reported by all insured employers for the 12‑month period ending on July 31 preceding the computation date.
(2)	The employer's experience rating. An employer's experience rating is computed as an experience reserve ratio in accordance with G.S. 96‑9.4. A positive ERRP produces a lower contribution rate, and a negative ERRP produces a higher contribution rate.
(b)	Standard Beginning Rate. – The standard beginning rate is one percent (1%). The standard beginning rate applies to an employer until the employer's account has been chargeable with benefits for at least 12 calendar months ending July 31 immediately preceding the computation date. An employer's account has been chargeable with benefits for at least 12 calendar months if the employer has reported wages paid in four completed calendar quarters and these quarters are in two consecutive calendar years.
(c)	Experience Rate. – The contribution rate for experienced rated employers is determined in accordance with the table set out below and then rounded to the nearest one‑hundredth percent (0.01%), subject to the minimum and maximum contribution rates. The minimum contribution rate is six‑hundredths of one percent (0.06%). The maximum contribution rate is five and seventy‑six hundredths percent (5.76%). 
													
UI Trust Fund Balance as Percentage of	Contribution Rate
Total Insured Wages
Less than or equal to 1%		2.9% minus ERRP
Greater than 1% but less than or equal to 1.25%	2.4% minus ERRP
Greater than 1.25%		1.9% minus ERRP
(d)	Notification of Contribution Rate. – The Division must notify an employer of the employer's contribution rate for a calendar year by January 1 of that year. The contribution rate becomes final unless the employer files an application for review and redetermination prior to May 1 following the effective date of the contribution rate. The Division may redetermine the contribution rate on its own motion within the same time period.
(e)	Voluntary Contribution. – An employer that is subject to this section may make a voluntary contribution to the Unemployment Insurance Fund in addition to its required contribution. A voluntary contribution is credited to the employer's account. A voluntary contribution made by an employer within 30 days after the date on an annual notice of its contribution rate is considered to have been made as of the previous July 31."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.