Budget fix bill includes $500K to defend HB2

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly could give Gov. Pat McCrory’s office $500,000 to help him defend House Bill 2 in court.

Legislation to make small and technical changes to a separate state budget agreement would take the money from $10 million allocated for disaster relief fund to use for the legal costs. The legislation earmarking the $500,000 cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.

House Bill 2, which has drawn national attention, limits anti-discrimination rules protecting LGBT people and directs transgender men and women to use public restrooms corresponding with the sex on their birth certificates. Civil rights groups and transgender residents have sued to overturn these provisions. McCrory and the U.S. Justice Department also have filed competing lawsuits.

Senate budget-writer Harry Brown says McCrory’s office asked for the funds but didn’t know if the governor would need them.