bathroom_pic.jpg

AP Photo/Toby Talbot

An array of business and economic development groups are vocalizing their concerns about the Alabama version of a controversial restroom bill that plunged North Carolina into political chaos.

Among those groups: the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the Business Council of Alabama, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance and the Coastal Alabama Partnership, to name a few.

Their caution focuses on SB1, titled the "Alabama Privacy Act," which regulates access to public restrooms inside businesses.

"There is a devastating economic impact for the state of Alabama if this were to happen," said Wiley Blankenship, president and CEO of the Coastal Alabama Partnership, representing economic development interests in the southern portion of the state.

Said William Canary, president of Montgomery-based BCA: "Alabama has many challenges, the least of them is bathrooms."

The bill's thrust into Alabama's legislative spotlight has also created unique alliances. For instance, the left-leaning ACLU and the conservative Eagle Forum of Alabama are both opposed.

'Grossly misrepresented'

Phil Williams represents Etowah, Cherokee, DeKalb and St. Clair Counties in the Alabama Senate. (file photo)

State Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, the bill sponsor, is undeterred. He said there is a lot of misinformation circulating about the bill, and a lot of "hand-wringing that is unnecessary."

"There is nothing in my bill to stymie commerce or in some way, create a firestorm," said Williams. "It's been grossly misrepresented by the average person who is assaulting me on social media."

The bill, as proposed, would create three types of public restrooms:

Restrooms, bathrooms or changing facilities that are designed to be used by one person at a time.

Restrooms, bathrooms or changing facilities that are designed to be used by multiple people of the same gender.

Restrooms, bathrooms or changing facilities that are designed to be used by multiple persons at once, irrespective of gender. At such facilities, an attendant must be stationed at the door to monitor its appropriate use and answer questions or concerns posed by users.

Williams said that "almost every business" in Alabama will be unaffected by the bill, except for stores, like Target, that have introduced policies allowing transgender customers to use the restroom that matches their gender identity.

Williams said that Target, and other stores with similar policies will be required to post the attendant or be subject to a fine. The legislation calls for a civil penalty of not less than $2,000 upon the first violation, and not less than $3,500 upon the second infraction.

A lawyer out of Gadsden, Williams said he "thoroughly researched" the issue before he filed the bill.

"My bill deals with Alabama law that says every citizen of this state has a right to privacy and security, and that's embedded into our law," said Williams, who was a full-time minister before entering legal service. "When you have an entity like Target that might potentially violate the rights of citizens to those facilities, they need to be held to account."

Target did not respond to a request for comment.

Williams does acknowledge that the bill may have to be revised so that it specifically addresses whether transgender people who choose to use the one-gender, group restroom, must go to the one that aligns with their birth certificate.

Similar bills introduced this year in legislatures in Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Minnesota, Wyoming and Illinois all make such stipulations.

"The bill will probably be modified somewhat ... the intent of the bill is to deal with the sex you were born with," Williams said, noting that it will likely not surface for debate in the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee for a "couple of weeks."

'Real economic impact'

Williams denies that the bill is like the North Carolina legislation that prompted boycotts from professional sports leagues and entertainers as well as recoiling from corporations.

HB2 in North Carolina essentially bans people from using restrooms that don't correspond to their biological sex as listed on their birth certificates. According to a Forbes analysis, the law has led to at least $630 million in lost business for North Carolina.

In Tennessee, a similar bill has been reintroduced despite outcry from that state's business community. Last year, executives from 60 Tennessee businesses, including Cigna, Hilton Hotels, Dow Chemical Co. and Alcoa Inc., signed a letter to Republican leaders lamenting the bill and warning of harmful impacts, according to the Tennessean newspaper.

In Alabama, leading business groups want to avoid going down the same path. That sentiment is finding a particular voice in coastal Alabama, where tourism continues to break records along the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and where new industry, such as Airbus' $600 million assembly plant in Mobile, are remaking the economic landscape.

"We've communicated to our legislators here that we are pursuing and are in discussions with large international companies that take notice to policy like this," said Lee Lawson, president and CEO of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance. "My message to our delegation is that this is not a moral issue, it's an economic development issue. There is real economic impact that comes with this kind of legislation."

Added Grant Brown, spokesman with the city of Gulf Shores: "We are disappointed to see it being brought up."

Troy Wayman, vice president of economic development with the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, said his organization - much like business groups throughout the state - opposes "overburdening" regulations on the private sector.

"In North Carolina, the estimated impact was $600 million," said Wayman. "We don't need that type of kick."

Meanwhile, at the BCA, Canary said, "The bill seeks a solution to a problem that does not exist in Alabama, especially in light of the new administration in Washington, D.C."

Steve Spencer, president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama - a non-profit collaboration of more than 60 companies that aim at job growth and retention - said the bill could "create unwarranted criticism, unnecessary confusion and hurt the state's ability" to attract and retain industry "while really accomplishing little, if anything."

But Mat Staver, founder and chairman of the conservative Liberty Counsel, said, "I think the issue of whether it will hurt economically in Alabama is overblown. I don't think keeping the status quo, which that bill does, will hurt the economy. It's a red herring."

He said, "You really have to go back to reality: It allows employers to do what they have always done by having male/female restrooms that protect privacy and safety of employees and patrons."

Staver said the only way the bill requires a business to make any changes is if it develops a policy, much like Target, allowing transgender patrons to choose restrooms that match their gender identity.

"I think, certainly on these issues, that perception is greater than reality," said Staver. "Most of these issues, the rhetoric is spun much more hysterionic and worst-case scenario than reality is."

Uphill legislative climb

The bill could have an uphill climb in Montgomery as blowback grows.

"Having business interests against your bill is a definite minus in Alabama, especially if they are willing to do more than simply make a pro forma statement against it," said William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama and a longtime observer of state politics. "Business is the primary source for many legislators in how they fund their campaigns. I think they would prefer that the committee to which it is referred to bottles it up."

Even if the bill passes the Senate, Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said "it is important that we be mindful of any potential economic impact it may have on the state."

State Rep. Randy Davis, R-Daphne, said he doesn't see the bill going far in the Legislature this session, and believes a lot of the issues "will be handled on the national level."

Williams, himself, said his bill could become a "moot point" depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court rules in a Virginia case set for oral arguments next month.

The court could also provide clarity to the guidance the Obama administration issued in May that required public schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms of their choosing.

Williams' bill does not specifically mention schools.

Jess Brown, a retired political science professor at Athens State University, said that the bill could have other political implications. Brown, who predicts the bill will fail, said its aim could be to label Democrats - ahead of a statewide election year in 2018 - "as the party that wants equality for people based on sexual orientation so that voters are reminded again that Republicans are for traditional values."

Brown said he doesn't believe many Alabamians are concerned about the issue: "If we started at the Tennessee line and went down toward the Gulf and asked (voters) about a truly practical problem, bathroom privacy would not be high on their list."

Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, the former House Minority Leader, said he has asked Williams if he had approached anyone in the business community about the bill prior to introducing it. "I guess now we know he didn't," said Ford. "It will inconvenience far more Alabamians that it will ever protect, and I doubt it will actually do anything to prevent an attack if one were to occur. This bill is a solution in search of a problem."

Williams, though, said his constituents in Etowah, St. Clair and Cherokee counties in northeastern Alabama have made it clear to him that the bill is important to them.

With constituents clamoring for action, he said, he didn't feel the need to approach business interests before introducing the bill.

"Usually, I get calls or concerns ... about a road concern in my area," said Williams. "But two things that have been consistent were calls from constituents (about) the increase of their premiums from ObamaCare and the calls of worries about the transgender bathrooms. My constituents are saying, 'It's an issue.'" He added, "I did what my constituents are asking for."