'Bathroom Bill' Legislation To Cost N.C. Nearly $4B, Study Finds

North Carolina’s contentious “bathroom bill” law will cost the state $3.76B over the next 12 years, the Associated Press reports. The revelation contradicts the state GOP’s stance that the law has not hurt the state’s economy.

“Over the past year, North Carolina has suffered financial hits ranging from scuttled plans for a PayPal facility that would have added an estimated $2.66 billion to the state's economy to a canceled Ringo Starr concert that deprived a town's amphitheater of about $33,000 in revenue,” the AP said. “The blows have landed in the state's biggest cities as well as towns surrounding its flagship university, and from the mountains to the coast.”

Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Charlotte, NC Patch

The law that denies anti-discrimination protection based upon sexaul orientation or gender identity has been in effect for one year and has already cost the state an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars. Economic boycotts have hit the state, from companies refusing to bring jobs to North Carolina, to high-profile concert performers and sporting events, such as the ongoing NCAA Tournament.

“For one year now, HB 2 has harmed our reputation and cost our economy thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said March 23 “I have offered numerous compromises and remain open to any deal that will bring jobs and sports back to North Carolina and begin to repair our reputation.”

Prior to the law’s enacting, for example, NCAA had a long and favorable relationship with the state. It is setting its schedule through 2022, but refuses to consider North Carolina as a venue as long as the law is in effect.

On March 23, the NCAA issued an ultimatum to state lawmakers who have been so far unable to reach consensus on repealing the law, saying once plans were set on April 18, they were final, according to The Charlotte Observer.

“HB2 cost to NC is billions not millions,” the state’s Attorney General Josh Stein tweeted Monday. “Discrimination is expensive.”

Image via Shutterstock