Local Elected Officials Concerned Over Provision in House Bill 2 Proposal

Government officials statewide are still processing what Governor Roy Cooper is calling his “common-sense compromise” to repeal House Bill 2.

The three-part proposal includes a provision that has concerned some local elected officials.

Orange County Board of Commissioners chair Mark Dorosin said he’s ultimately excited about the possibility of repealing House Bill 2.

“It’s a shameful bit of legislation that has marginalized large numbers of our community and also just brought humiliation and embarrassment to the state,” he said.

But Dorosin said he’s also struggling with Governor Roy Cooper’s plan to repeal House Bill 2.

“I’m frustrated by the level of control the state legislature seems to want to have over local governments,” he said.

Cooper’s plan calls for a full repeal of House Bill 2 and stricter penalties for crimes committed in bathrooms.

But it also requires local governments to provide a 30-day notice before enacting a non-discrimination ordinance, the same sort of ordinance the city of Charlotte enacted that resulted in the passing of House Bill 2.

Dorosin says he’s concerned about exactly how that 30-day notice would work.

“Does that mean that the General Assembly will be able to take some sort of action to interfere with a non-discrimination ordinance?” he said.

Dorosin said that if there were no House Bill 2, the Board of Commissioners would pass broad anti-discrimination legislation in Orange County and that other areas in the state would likely follow suit.

The passing of these types of ordinances still concerns Republican leaders, including House Speaker Tim Moore.

Moore said he doesn’t think Cooper’s proposal would pass the House.

“It’s really not anything new from what we’ve seen before,” he said.

Senate leader Phil Berger also announced his opposition to the plan in a statement Tuesday.