The N.C. General Assembly’s Senate Rules Committee approved a compromise bill to repeal HB2 in a voice vote Wednesday morning, despite objections from advocates on both sides.
The bill will next go to the Senate floor at 11 a.m. This story will be updated as news unfolds.
The deal would repeal HB2, but it would enact a moratorium on local non-discrimination ordinances similar to Charlotte’s until Dec. 1, 2020.
The bill is supported by Gov. Roy Cooper, N.C. Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland.
Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, introduced the bill along with Berger. He said that while some people don’t like the moratorium, the bill would put things back to how they were before HB2.
UNC-Chapel Hill employee Joaquín Carcaño, who is a plaintiff in a federal court case objecting to House Bill 2, said the bill is a replacement — not a repeal.
“This bill sacrifices our lives and our safety for the sake of basketball,” Carcaño said.
Today is the deadline beyond which the NCAA may pull years of tournaments from North Carolina unless HB2 is rescinded — though there’s no guarantee that today’s bill would fix the issue in the NCAA’s eyes.
Durham resident Clinton Wright, who was protesting outside the General Assembly, said the bill is the opposite of an HB2 repeal.
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"For the NCAA to have our politicians ears more than the people of North Carolina is highly problematic,” he said.
John Rustin of N.C. Family Policy Council also spoke against the compromise bill, although for different reasons. He said HB2 must remain in effect for safety reasons.
Speakers from Equality NC and ACLU-NC demanded a clean repeal in the committee meeting.
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