RALEIGH Gov. Pat McCrory’s office announced Friday that he is willing to call the N.C. General Assembly back into a special session if the Charlotte City Council repeals its ordinance that triggered the controversial House Bill 2.”For the last nine months, the governor has consistently
said state legislation is only needed if the Charlotte ordinance remains in
place. If the Charlotte City Council totally repeals the ordinance and then we
can confirm there is support to repeal among the majority of state lawmakers in
the House and Senate, the governor will call a special session. It is the governor’s
understanding that legislative leaders and the lieutenant governor agree with
that assessment,” said Josh Ellis, communications director for McCrory. Several versions of a compromise deal have been in the works, some offered by lawmakers, others by lobbyists including the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association, who said they are working to stem what they say is collateral damage to the tourism industry in the wake of the law.”NCRLA has received assurances this week from legislative leadership, that if the Charlotte City Council repeals Ordinance #7056 at their meeting on Monday, the General Assembly is prepared to meet in special session as early as next week to repeal House Bill 2,” Lynn Minges, NCRLA president and CEO, said in a statement earlier on Friday. “Furthermore, Gov. Pat McCrory has assured NCRLA that he is willing to call legislators into a special session next week for this purpose if both the city and legislators have the votes for repeal,” she said.The announcement comes the week that the Atlantic Coast Conference followed the NCAA in announcing it would move 10 college sports championships from North Carolina in protest of the controversial House Bill 2 law. On Monday the NCAA announced it would relocate seven championship sporting events. The decision sparked outrage and accusations of playing politics ahead of the November gubernatorial election.The Charlotte City Council is scheduled to meet on Monday, but as of Friday evening, only zoning issues were listed on the agenda. The North Carolina House Republican Caucus is also set to meet Monday at 1 p.m.
