Lawmakers reach deal with the governor on HB2
RALEIGH -- Republican leaders in the General Assembly announced late Wednesday they have a deal with Governor Roy Cooper on HB2 as a reported deadline to repeal it or face the loss of NCAA events looms.
While HB142 repeals HB2, it bans municipalities from passing any non-discrimination ordinances through 2020. After that, local governments would be banned from passing any non-discrimination ordinances related to bathrooms.
House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger said at a news conference around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday that both chambers will take up HB142 Thursday morning.
They said they had agreed with Governor Cooper not to take questions and left the podium after the brief announcement.
Governor Cooper issued a statement after 11 p.m.
"I support the House Bill 2 repeal compromise that will be introduced tomorrow. It's not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation," he said.
The announcement came after Republicans and Democrats spent several hours Wednesday in closed-door meetings.
The NCAA already removed championship events this year from North Carolina for the law known as House Bill 2, which limits LGBT nondiscrimination protections and requires transgender people to use public restrooms corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate.
Scott Dupree, Executive Director of the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, said Tuesday that if North Carolina doesn't repeal HB2 by Thursday, it will lose NCAA championship events through 2022.
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Before the deal was announced, LGBT groups held a conference call with reporters and said they had heard details of the bill from reliable sources and are opposed to the deal.
Members of The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Equality NC and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) said the deal is only a partial repeal of HB2.
They said if the deal is passed, they will continue to press sports leagues, businesses, and other groups to boycott the state.
