North Carolina Governor Expected to Sign Repeal of Bathroom Law

Both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly voted in favor of a bill on Thursday that would repeal the controversial law affecting transgender bathroom use in public buildings, part of a compromise worked out earlier in the week between Republican legislative leaders and the Democratic governor.

But with anger rising over the compromise from groups on both the left and the right, it was unclear whether the anticipated signing of the new bill into law would extricate North Carolina from the roiling national controversy over the proper levels of legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The existing law, known as House Bill 2, triggered a national backlash from companies, entertainers and sports leagues that considered it to be discriminatory. Performers like Bruce Springsteen canceled concerts, and the N.C.A.A., Atlantic Coast Conference and National Basketball Association have moved high-profile events.

This week, a new flurry of action over the law came as the N.C.A.A. warned North Carolina that it could lose the opportunity to host championship sporting events through 2022, which could mean millions in lost revenue. The league had already relocated championship tournament games that would have been played in the state during this academic year, including the Division I men’s basketball tournament.

The compromise bill passed the Senate, 32 to 16, in a late-morning vote after only brief discussion. It passed the House in the afternoon by a vote of 70 to 48 after fiery denunciations by some conservative and liberal members. It now requires the signature of Gov. Roy Cooper, who has said he supports the bill.

Phil Berger, a Republican and the Senate leader, acknowledged that many people were probably not pleased by the arrangement. However, he said, “compromise sometimes is difficult, and this bill represents that.”

The new bill would repeal House Bill 2, create a moratorium on local nondiscrimination ordinances through 2020 and leave regulation of bathrooms to state lawmakers.

In a brief statement on Wednesday, Mr. Cooper — whose razor-thin victory over Mr. McCrory in November was due in large part to voter frustration over the national backlash over House Bill 2 — said that the measure was “not a perfect deal, but it repeals House Bill 2 and begins to repair our reputation.”

In the House, Representative Deb Butler, one of the state’s few openly gay legislators, was among those who said the compromise would not ameliorate “the stigma and suffering” associated with House Bill 2. “We would rather suffer HB2 than to have this body, one more time, deny us the full and unfettered protection of the law,” she said.

Representative Bert Jones, a Republican, also opposed the compromise, citing his belief that God “created us male and female,” and arguing that it was not discriminatory for him to hold that belief.

But in the end, more legislators appeared to believe that the state needed to do something to end the boycotts.

Some conservatives in the House said that it felt as though the legislature was caving to pressure from the N.C.A.A. Mr. Jones said two flags should now be flown outside the legislative building: that of “a certain intercollegiate athletic association” and “a white flag.”

The Associated Press released an analysis this week estimating that House Bill 2 would cost North Carolina more than $3.7 billion in lost business in the next 12 years.

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