HB2 losses not affecting NC’s overall economy, McCrory budget director says

State budget director Andrew Heath is downplaying the economic impact of job losses and event cancellations prompted by House Bill 2.

Heath addressed the issue Monday during a lunch presentation to the conservative John Locke Foundation. He did not mention HB2 by name and instead referred to it as “a controversial policy.”

Heath, who was appointed by Gov. Pat McCrory, described opponents of the law as “folks who like to say the sky is falling because a sporting event is moved out of state.”

The sporting event is the NBA All-Star Game, which recently announced it won’t come to Charlotte in 2017 because it views the law as discriminatory toward LGBT people. Tourism experts had estimated the game could have had as much as $100 million in economic impact in the Charlotte area, with tens of thousands of visitors spending money at hotels and restaurants.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article95757872.html