North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday adjourned its special session without taking action on the so-called “bathroom bill” that has roiled the Tar Heel state for the past year.
The N.C. legislature was expected to repeal House Bill 2 after the Charlotte City Council earlier Wednesday voted to repeal an anti-discrimination ordinance that led the GOP-dominated legislature to adopt HB 2 in the first place.
But, in a move that has implications for the coming Georgia legislative session, Republican leaders in Raleigh first proposed, instead of a straight repeal, a bill that would cancel HB 2 yet prevent cities in North Carolina from adopting non-discrimination ordinances for at least six months.
So, North Carolina will awake Thursday with HB 2 still the law of the land and its largest city bereft of the civil rights protections its council members supported.
In Georgia, those on both sides of the debate over so-called “religious liberty” legislation were closely watching North Carolina.
Gov. Nathan Deal's decision to veto House Bill 757 this year was based, in part, on what happened in North Carolina, he said in April.
“It’s time to take another deep breath,” Deal said in April. “I see what’s happening in North Carolina. I see what’s happening in Mississippi,” he said. “And I would hope that many of the ones that are pushing for it would not want the state of Georgia to go through that kind of scenario.”
Supporters of the measure, including Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, expressed disappointment with the governor's action, but no serious effort to override his veto is expected when Georgia lawmakers return to session in January.
That does not mean, however, that attempts won't be made to pass a similar bill here in 2017. Sen. Josh McKoon, R-Columbus, a key supporter and sponsor of similar bills in past years, said he has not yet decide whether to introduce his own version or to sign on to a colleague's bill.
Back in April, Deal said he didn’t “want to go through the same process all over again.”
It appears that is exactly what will happen, however.
In North Carolina, HB 2 is blamed for the loss of hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tourism. Major sports leagues moved tournaments and high-profile events from the state.
Wednesday’s development in Raleigh comes after lawmakers there earlier this month voted in a separate special session to strip incoming Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of many powers. Cooper narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Pat McCrory and outcome based, at least in part, on McCrory’s support of HB2.
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