A convention scheduled to take place in Chapel Hill next year has canceled over North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2.

The Public Management Research Associates Conference was scheduled to be held in Chapel Hill in June 2017. But the group’s Board of Directors decided at its recent meeting in June to cancel because of the law that requires transgender individuals to use the bathroom that matches their birth certificate rather than their gender identity, according to an e-mail from the Orange County Visitor’s Bureau to the County Commissioners.

This marks the sixth cancelation of a conference in Orange County, according to the e-mail. The others include the ESIP Annual Conference, Maternal Child Healthcare Training, Foundation of Earth Science, the National MCH Workforce Development and tobacco control researchers.

The Visitors Bureau is now projecting a total loss of hotel revenues of approximately $1.2 million due to the cancellations.

The latest cancelation was described as a “huge conference for Orange County with an anticipated economic impact of $453,615 and 1780 room nights.”

The e-mail adds, “Based on the feedback we’ve received, HB2 is a guarantee that our tourism economy could be severely damaged.”

There have been businesses that put expansion plans on hold or canceled them altogether because of HB2.

The National Basketball Association has also said changes would need to be made to the law if the league was going to follow through holding the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte as planned.

The North Carolina General Assembly recently wrapped up the legislative session without changing any of the high-profile provisions of the legislation.

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