Companies That Oppose HB2 Now Being Targeted for Retribution by North Carolina GOP Lawmakers

Lobbyists Say GOP Lawmakers Trying to Bully Corporations Into Silence

Citing its damaging effects on business, over two hundred companies that are based in or do business in North Carolina have signed an HRC letter denouncing HB2 and asking that it be repealed. Now, those companies are being targeted by Republican lawmakers or their staffs, according to lobbyists who say it’s unprecedented.

“Lobbyists say they’ve been told – either directly by legislative leaders or by lawmakers’ staff – that, if they or the businesses they represent speak out publicly against House Bill 2, they can expect retribution from House and Senate leaders,” WRAL reports.

“One long-time lobbyist called the pressure a ‘gross abuse of power.’ Another veteran lobbyist labeled it ‘vicious,’ adding, ‘I’ve never seen anything like it.'”

The CEO of North Carolina-based Red Hat software, a $1.5 billion multi-national S&P 500 component company in March tweeted an emotional response the day HB2 was passed and signed into law:

Even though the tweet was not directed toward anyone, House Majority Leader Mike Hager, who is very active on Twitter, chose to respond – and not in a particularly statesman like fashion:

This is far from Hager’s only response to those who oppose HB2. His tweets these days are mostly in support of HB2, or attacking those who are not.

Just four days after HB2 passed and was signed into law, Hager posted this threatening tweet to a North Carolina lobbyist:

The @LisaMartinNC Twitter account is now closed. A LinkedIn profile shows a Lisa Martin in Raleigh, NC, who is a partner in a government lobbying firm.

On Wednesday, the Rep. Hager insisted his tweet was not threatening at all.

“That’s not a threat,” Hager told WRAL. “We want people that’ll work with us. We don’t want people that’ll go out there and bash us on Twitter and bash us on Facebook.”

Regardless of how pliable Hager wants companies and those who are paid to represent them to be, they have every right to “go out there and bash” lawmakers who support HB2 on Twitter and on Facebook.

WRAL reports “Hager wants to remove state tax breaks that currently benefit American Airlines, NASCAR, Google, Apple and Facebook, all of which have taken public positions against House Bill 2. But he said that’s just a coincidence.”

Democratic Rep. Chris Sgro is voicing his concern.

“The business community is standing up for what they think is the right thing and certainly what’s good for their bottom line,” Sgro told WRAL. “We already have this terrible business climate because of this bill. If some members of leadership are going to double down on that and threaten the businesses that are willing to stay and try to make it better, that’s dangerous.”

 

Image by NC Policy Watch via Twitter