Tuesday Wrap: HB2 presser-palooza

There was lots of talk Tuesday on repealing House Bill 2, with three press conferences in less than four hours, but no action on the proposal.

LGBT advocates and Democratic lawmakers were up first to denounce a provision in a repeal bill filed last week that would allow opponents of local ordinances providing discrimination protections to gay and transgender people to call for a referendum on the issue.

Bill sponsors came next, parading out representatives from various business organizations desperate for a repeal of the controversial law limiting LGBT rights. None of the business representatives stated support for the proposal at hand, only the notion that some movement toward repeal is being made.

House Minority Leader Darren Jackson ended the press conference trifecta with his white board calculations as to why the bill wouldn't pass as is but might if the referendum provision was deleted.

In sum, Democrats and Republicans pointed the finger at each other when casting blame for the impasse and said the leaders of the opposing side needed to soften their position to reach a repeal compromise.

Outside the Legislative Building, Gov. Roy Cooper announced he would roll out his budget proposal on Wednesday, saying his spending plan would expand pre-kindergarten and push to increase the high school graduation rate. But he didn't provide any details for either initiative.