The Orange County Board of Commissioners recommended to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners that the group should lobby the state legislature to repeal House Bill 2.

The NCACC advocates on behalf of counties to North Carolina’s three branches of government.

“Every two years the NCACC organizes this process to develop the legislative goals package,” said assistant to the county manager Greg Wilder. “They hope to develop a consensus across the state of legislative goals to help guide the representatives.”

The commissioners unanimously passed a list of 21 points that they wish to see the NCACC tackle.

Orange County touched on a number of issues including calling to raise the minimum wage, the expansion of broadband and raising the age for juveniles to be treated as adults in court from 16 to 18.

They also recommended the repeal of HB2, North Carolina’s controversial law that requires all individuals to use the bathroom of the sex that is on their birth certificate.

The county also asked for the right to make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes within the county.

Protected classes expand the legal protection a person can get if they are discriminated against.

Commissioner Renee Price said she did not think the county’s recommendation on HB2 went far enough.

“I must say, I just don’t support kind of a piecemeal, step-by-step approach to fighting discrimination,” Price said.

While other commissioners agreed with Price’s sentiment that the state should make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes under the law, the language was softened to help give the counties of North Carolina a unified message.

Commissioners said they thought more conservative county governments would not support that kind of strong language.

“If they don’t repeal the bill, what it asks for is for them to grant local governments the authority to essentially establish their own independent, protected classes,” said county attorney John Roberts

NCACC is planning on formalizing its goal in January, 2017.

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