Legislative Report: Understanding the "Repeal" of HB2

House Bill 142 / S.L. 2017-4 replaced the infamous H.B. 2, but what else did it do?

“Working people in North Carolina deserve discrimination-free workplaces, higher wages, and paid sick leave. Cities and counties that want to provide such protections to workers should be allowed to do so.” -- MaryBe McMillan, Secretary-Treasurer, NC State AFL-CIO (3/30/17)

As most everyone knows, the infamous House Bill 2 (HB 2) was recently repealed by the legislature and replaced with new legislation. The repeal and replacement bill was quickly signed by Governor Cooper. The direct impetus was that the NCAA had set a deadline for such a repeal if our state wanted to be considered as host to any of that organization’s activities over the next few years. The repeal worked to that end, as the NCAA has indicated (although with reservations) that it will now consider our state as a host going forward.

Some of our good friends in the legislature voted for the repeal, agreeing with Governor Cooper that it was an important step that improves the law and that the overall package was the best that could be done given current political circumstances. Other good friends in the legislature voted against the repeal, maintaining that the replacement legislation was not a full repeal, perpetuated discrimination, and was, over all, unacceptable. We certainly would have preferred full repeal.

A number of our members have asked us what the repeal legislation, known as HB 142, actually provides. We will attempt to briefly explain our understanding in this report.

Read our Legislative Report: H.B. 2 "Repeal" (PDF):

Download our special legislative report on the repeal of HB 2 (PDF)