Small businesses weigh in on North Carolina's new 'bathroom bill'

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- One day after Republican lawmakers filed a new bill that's drawing comparisons to North Carolina's well-known and controversial HB 2, local businesses shared concerns about the potential economic effects it might have.

SB 516, also called the Women's Safety and Protection Act, would require transgender people to use the bathroom in public schools and other facilities that corresponds to their sex at birth. It's reminiscent of the 2016 bill, HB 2, that led to widespread boycotts across North Carolina and billions of dollars in economic loss, according to economists. It only applies to facilities that receive state funding, not private businesses.

That effect trickled down to small business owners in the Triangle -- some of whom told ABC11 they won't want lawmakers to roll the dice on a repeat of the bill.

"It's bad economics, it's bad for business. And it projects that our state is an intolerant place to be," said Pam Blondin, owner of Deco Raleigh.

Nine years after HB 2 created headaches for her gift shop, Blondin is concerned she may soon have to deal with similar challenges as a result of SB 516. Economists told ABC11 on Wednesday that they don't expect the same degree of pushback from corporate America this time around, but Blondin said a decline in downtown foot traffic post-COVID has businesses in a particularly vulnerable spot.

"It worries me a lot. If the employers decide they don't want to be doing business here and the conferences stop coming, that's the death knell for our downtown and for these small businesses," she said.

The numbers paint a different picture, however. Wake County set records for tourism in 2016 despite the passage of HB 2. The law did have some negative economic effect, particularly with meetings and conventions, but did not largely affect tourism dollars.

Advocates for SB 516 said this is a different bill coming at a very different time.

"This bill is not HB 2," said Tami Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the NC Values Coalition. "This is about protecting women and girls in vulnerable spaces. It's about defining the terms male, female, man, woman, and sex according to biology."

Fitzgerald said she believes that the public will back the legislation and that it could even receive some support from across the aisle.

"This is a nonpartisan issue. It's about common sense. And basically, people are waking up to the harmful effects of gender ideology," she said.

ABC11 reached out to the bill's sponsors and Senate President Phil Berger but has not heard back.