The changes – which were not part of any other bill this legislative session – were added to an unrelated bill that started out in April and addressed qualifications for professional counselors.
By Tuesday night, the bill had the attention of lawmakers, lobbyists, municipal and county officials, and a slew of advocates who were all studying the rewritten bill. Its language seemed to overhaul a wide range of nondiscrimination ordinances, housing regulations and workplace regulations that some cities and counties have adopted.
The new bill emerged from what is known as a conference committee – a panel appointed to work out differences on bill language between the House and Senate. This committee was chaired by Sen. Chad Barefoot and Rep. Paul Stam of Wake County and had started its work with competing versions of the professional counseling bill.
