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The real and potential economic loss from keeping the anti-transgender law on the books is starting to have a measurable drain on the state’s economy.
The price tag for keeping North Carolina's HB2 on the books just keeps getting more and more expensive.
In a review by the Associate Press, Gov. Pat McCrory and state legislative leaders have run up more than $176,000 in legal fees to defend the law, which prevents transgender people from using restrooms and changing rooms matching their gender identity.
That's likely not the total because some firms have yet to bill the state for their work on the legal battle between the state and the Department of Justice.
State taxpayers will have to eat those real costs, in addition to the estimated $100 million in lost potential revenue after the NBA withdrew the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte over the controversial law.
The state legislature adjourned for the year this summer without making any significant changes to the law that has prompted several suits and countersuits, as well as corporate and entertainment boycotts of the state.
Before they left Raleigh, representatives made sure to divert $500,000 to the governor's office to defend the law--from the state's disaster relief fund.
Yes, that's right. Apparently protecting citizens from law-abiding transgender people is more of a priority than hurricanes or tornadoes. Go figure.
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