2 Arkansas senators file framework for 'bathroom bill'

Plan ‘potentially harmful’ for state, Hutchinson says

Two Republican lawmakers filed a so-called bathroom bill on Tuesday aimed at emulating a North Carolina law that has garnered headlines nationally.

Senate Bill 346, by Sen. Greg Standridge, R-Russellville, and Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, "concerns gender identity and bathroom privileges" but doesn't contain details.

"That is a shell bill that is a bathroom bill" like North Carolina's bill, Stubblefield said. "We are just going to see how it goes ... there are some issues in the state with that issue."

He declined to elaborate. Standridge did not return a request for comment. Legislation filed with the intention of adding details later is called a shell bill.

North Carolina's law requires that transgender people who need public restrooms use one corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates. The law also prohibits local governments from passing nondiscrimination protections for gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement he opposes an Arkansas version of that law.

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"I have consistently said that there is no need for a North Carolina type bathroom bill in Arkansas," he said. "It is unclear as to the specifics of the proposed legislation but if it is similar to North Carolina's, I view the bill as unnecessary and potentially harmful."

After the law was enacted in North Carolina, companies such as Bank of America and American Airlines as well as sports organizations such as the NBA also criticized the law.

PayPal canceled plans for a new operations center in Charlotte, N.C., that would have employed more than 400. CoStar Group, a real estate research firm, chose Virginia instead of North Carolina for a new 730-job research operation center, according to The Charlotte Observer.

The NCAA also announced it would relocate championship games from North Carolina due to the law.

Equality NC, a group that says it is dedicated to securing equal rights and justice for gay, bisexual and transgender North Carolinians, said the law is discriminatory.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is seeking to repeal the law.

He announced a compromise Tuesday that involves tougher penalties for crimes committed in restrooms and dressing rooms and a requirement that local governments give the Legislature 30 days' notice before voting on nondiscrimination ordinances.

Neither the Republican legislative leaders who supported the original measure nor groups that oppose the law said they were happy with the compromise proposal, according to the news reports.

In Arkansas, House Minority Leader Michael John Gray, D-Augusta, said Democrats stand with the Republican governor.

"He has showed real leadership on this issue," Gray said. "We shouldn't be legislating solutions where there aren't issues."

Asked if he expects an uproar about the legislation, Stubblefield said: "You know what, I have been in an uproar since I have been here. Who knows? Who knows? North Carolina is not bankrupt yet, are they?"

He said he and Standridge will probably seek approval of the bill in two or three weeks.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas is monitoring the legislation, said Executive Director Rita Sklar, calling the bill "divisive and unnecessary."

"If anybody is paying attention to North Carolina they wouldn't do it to a state that is begging to bring companies here," Sklar said.

Jerry Cox, the president of the Little Rock-based Family Council, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Metro on 02/15/2017







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