North Carolina on Thursday repealed its controversial 'Bathroom Bill,' which restricts transgender use of public and school restrooms and locker rooms, but it remain unclear whether this will be a hurdle to a similar bill which is making its way through the Texas Legislature, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
State Sen Lois Kohlkorst (R) Brenham) is doubling down on the bill she introduced two months ago and has passed the State Senate with the full backing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
"North Carolina appears to be replacing their original law with a new measure that is similar to our state's SB6, the Texas Privacy Act," State Senator Lois Kolkhorst said.
In what is touted as a compromise, North Carolina lawmakers crafted a new law, HB 142, which would repeal their House Bill 2, which requires that people must use public bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate.
Dan Quinn with the Texas Freedom Network says it's a tacit acknowledgement that the law, seen as discriminatory by LGBT groups, was causing financial problems for the state.
A report done by the Associated Press, released this week, showed it will cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen years.
"It's hard to imagine why anyone in the Texas legislature, except out of pure spite, would want to pass a bill like this," he tells News Radio 1200 WOAI.
Chris Wallace, who heads the Texas Association of Business, says the turmoil in North Carolina over the past year, coupled with this week's move by their state legislature, and should send a clear message to the Texas legislature.
"It remains to be seen whether the enactment of HB 142 in North Carolina will solve the economic woes brought on by HB 2. That is why the Texas Business Community has made it clear that discriminatory laws have no place in Texas in the first place."