North Carolina’s Republican-held legislature has reached a deal to repeal a controversial and costly law that limited protections for LGBT people, the state’s incoming Democratic governor announced on Monday.

Governor-elect Roy Cooper said legislators planned to hold a special session to repeal the law, known as HB2, on Tuesday, because the city of Charlotte had repealed a local non-discrimination ordinance that Republicans cited as the catalyst for the statewide law.

HB2 spurred prominent companies and performers to shun North Carolina in protest, costing the state thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in corporate investments.

The law forced transgender individuals to use public facilities, such as bathrooms, corresponding with the gender on their birth certificates; removed some civil rights protections for LGBT people; and invalidated local “living wage” ordinances – laws requiring government contracts to be awarded to firms paying above the minimum wage.

In April, the Republican governor, Pat McCrory, issued an executive order that rolled back and clarified portions of the law. The move restored state anti-bias protections for transgender, gay and lesbian individuals and emphasized that private businesses retained the right to set their own policies for bathroom and other facilities.

McCrory also said he would call on lawmakers to re-establish the right of North Carolinians to sue for bias in court. HB2 required discrimination claims to be adjudicated through an out-of-court process.

The state nevertheless remained locked in litigation with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented transgender students and a staff member at the University of North Carolina in a challenge to the law.

The Obama administration investigated the possibility of stripping the state of federal funds, for violating anti-discrimination laws. Under Obama, the Department of Education has said that anything less than full access to bathrooms and locker rooms for trans students is a violation of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act.

The Charlotte city council repealed its ordinance on Monday. State lawmakers must fully repeal HB2 by 31 December for the move to take effect.

“Full repeal will help to bring jobs, sports and entertainment events back and will provide the opportunity for strong LGBT protections in our state,” Cooper said in a statement.

If HB2 is repealed, it will be a remarkable instance of bipartisan cooperation in North Carolina, where both houses of the state legislature are held by Republicans.

McCrory supported HB2’s passage, but its ramifications were perceived to have contributed to his re-election loss in November. Republicans have spent the weeks leading up to Cooper’s inauguration taking unprecedented steps to limit the power of the governorship. In response, Cooper, currently the state’s attorney general, has threatened to sue.

Protest over the law resulted in major economic consequences. Performers, including Bruce Springsteen, backed out of concerts; PayPal cancelled plans for a major expansion; and the NBA All-Star Weekend and several NCAA championship games were moved to other states.

The Charlotte city council had resisted change. In September, the council and state lawmakers reportedly brokered an agreement, only to have it collapse when the council failed to vote on overturning the local ordinance.

Representatives from groups opposed to HB2 applauded the council.

Joe Saunders, southern regional director for the Human Rights Campaign, said at the time: “The Human Rights Campaign and our local leadership would like to thank the Charlotte city council for their continued commitment to protecting LGBT Charlotteans from discrimination.”

On Monday, LGBT rights groups struck an uneasy position regarding the deal announced by Cooper.

“The Charlotte city council and mayor did the right thing by passing their ordinance – HB2 is wrong,” said Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality North Carolina.

“Now, the general assembly must fully repeal HB2 so that we can start the necessary talks for protecting LGBTQ people and bring back businesses across the state.”

Simone Bell, southern regional director for Lambda Legal, which performs legal advocacy for LGBT rights, said such rights were not “a bargaining chip”.

“Charlotte shouldn’t have had to repeal its ordinance in exchange for HB2 to be repealed,” she added. The group called for the legislature to pass a bill with comprehensive LGBT protections.



A statement from the city of Charlotte said lawmakers were “deeply dedicated to protecting the rights of all people from discrimination and, with House Bill 2 repealed, will be able to pursue that priority for our community”.

Spokesmen for McCrory did not immediately return phone and email messages. Media representatives for the state’s Republican legislative leaders also did not immediately respond.

Nationally, transgender rights leaders called on North Carolina to use the repeal of HB2 as an opportunity to enact new protections against discrimination.

“We are disappointed that Charlotte’s commonsense ordinance was repealed in order to get the general assembly to even consider a full repeal of HB2,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

“Protections for LGBT people, like the ones that Charlotte had passed, are there to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.

“Completely repealing HB2 is only the first step lawmakers must take to repair the harm they have done to their own constituents. A full repeal of HB2 will open a pathway for not only Charlotte, but also other cities in North Carolina, to pass protections in the future and ensure fairness for all their residents.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report