The North Carolina Senate failed to pass a bill Wednesday night that would have repealed House Bill 2, the controversial “bathroom bill” that thrust the issue of transgender rights into the national spotlight.
House lawmakers had called a special session to rescind the Republican-sponsored legislation before heading out for rest of the year.
The special session convened after the Charlotte City Council voted to repeal a non-discrimination ordinance on Monday that allowed for transgender people to use the public restroom facility of their gender identity. Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper called the special session into order on Monday to attempt to repeal HB2, which mandates that transgender people use the public restroom facility that corresponds with their birth gender.
After some Republicans signaled they wouldn’t repeal HB2 because not all of the nondiscrimination ordinance was fully repealed, the Charlotte City Council met early Wednesday, resulting in a 7-2 vote. The full repeal of the ordinance was seen as a bargaining chip in repealing HB2.
HB2 was passed by Republican lawmakers and signed by Gov. Pat McCrory earlier this year as a statewide attempt to quell the passing of more local nondiscrimination ordinances.
Soon after meeting for the session early Wednesday, numerous Republican House members attempted to stop it.
State Rep. Jeff Collins called the special session “unconstitutional,” and was joined by fellow lawmaker Michael Speciale in an attempt to adjourn the session.
The House then adjourned for recess several times throughout the day, the first time at around 11 a.m. When the House returned to session shortly after 4 p.m., it stood at ease — thrusting the Democrats’ attempts to repeal HB2 in limbo.
One local reporter said it is possible the legislature could adjourn without action, as North Carolina Republican Party remains too divided to reach consensus on repealing HB2.
On the Senate side, Republican Phil Berger filed a bill that repeals HB2. The bill by Berger — who is the state’s most powerful legislator — also would place a six-month moratorium on local ordinances such as the one in Charlotte.
Berger’s bill was met with opposition by Senate Democrats, who claimed the moratorium would negate the apparent deal made by repealing the Charlotte ordinance.
“It’s a very simple bill, and the concept is that we take the state back to the status quo that existed before Charlotte passed its ordinance,” Berger said on the Senate floor.
State Sen. Jeff Jackson, a Charlotte Democrat, shot back.
“This wasn’t the deal,” he said. “The deal was simple … this bill breaks that deal. Charlotte acted in good faith that we would keep our part of the bargain and it looks like we’re not going to.”
