North Carolina’s controversial “bathroom bill” could be repealed Wednesday after months of intense criticism and economic losses.
House Bill 2, signed into law in March, bans people from using public bathrooms that don’t correspond to their biological sex.
The state law was passed in response to a Charlotte city “non-discrimination ordinance” that allowed people to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
But on Monday, the City Council rescinded that ordinance — apparently in exchange for a special session by the state legislature to repeal HB2.
“The City Council acted in good faith to do everything that it understood was necessary to facilitate the repeal of HB2,” the city of Charlotte said in a statement Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the state’s General Assembly will hold that special session.
“Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore assured me that as a result of Charlotte’s vote, a special session will be called … to repeal HB2 in full,” Governor-elect Roy Cooper said.
HB2 bill roiled North Carolina politics ahead of the 2016 election. The Justice Department filed a suit challenging the measure, and businesses and performers threatened to pull out of the state. The state’s public university system also pledged to defy the statewide ordinance.
North Carolina suffered huge economic losses after HB2’s passage. Musicians Bruce Springsteen, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, and the bands Pearl Jam and Boston canceled concerts in the state.
PayPal and Deutsche Bank both said they would cancel plans to expand into the state. And the NCAA said it would relocate several college athletic championship events for the 2016-17 season that were scheduled to take place in North Carolina.