Today, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed HB 142 into law. When announcing the introduction of the bill late last night, Governor Cooper and legislative leaders claimed it was a repeal of the anti-transgender HB 2. In reality, the bill—which was rushed through a Senate committee, a full Senate vote, and a full House vote within the space of five hours today—preserves some of HB 2’s most egregious provisions and even adds on new forms of discrimination.
HB 142 bans cities from passing ordinances related to employment practices or public accommodations until the end of 2020, meaning that municipalities will continue to be banned from passing fair wage or anti-discrimination measures. On top of that, the bill prohibits local governments from regulating restrooms and other facilities, including by passing nondiscrimination measures that protect transgender people’s equal access to public facilities.
In response to today’s events, NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling said:
This morning felt very familiar. Just as HB 2 was rushed through the General Assembly in one day last year, HB 142 was rushed through as well. As many legislators said on the House floor today, the people of North Carolina had no time to give their input on this bill. In particular, transgender North Carolinians were not afforded more than a minute or two to share the impact this fake repeal would have on them.
The reason for the rush was obvious—the NCAA is choosing locations for the next five years’ championship games this week, and it has indicated that it could not subject its players and its fans to the discrimination mandated by HB 2. Make no mistake: North Carolina still has state-sanctioned discrimination on the books. We call on the NCAA to stand firm and to continue to withhold championship games from North Carolina until the discriminatory anti-transgender law have been completely repealed.
This the end of HB 2 in name only. The bill that was passed today is a disgrace—not a ‘fix,’ a ‘reset,’ or a ‘compromise,’ and certainly not a repeal. Putting any kind of moratorium on civil rights—whether 6 months or 3 years long—is dangerous and wrong. And signing this bill into law absolutely does not take North Carolina back to where it was before March 2016. Before last year, cities and towns around North Carolina were free to protect their residents from discrimination without the state sticking its nose where it didn’t belong. It is Gov. Cooper’s job to lead the state of North Carolina. The story of HB 2 and its disastrous consequences started with former Gov. McCrory, but the way it continues is on Gov. Cooper’s shoulders. Unfortunately, his decision to sign HB 142 today was a turn in the wrong direction.
