General Assembly Of North Carolina 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Second Extra Session 2016 "Equal Access to Public Accommodations. "§ 143-422.10. Short title. This Article shall be known and may be cited as the Equal Access to Public Accommodations Act. "§ 143-422.11. Legislative declaration. (a) It is the public policy of this State to protect and safeguard the right and opportunity of all individuals within the State to enjoy fully and equally the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of places of public accommodation free of discrimination because of race, religion, color, national origin, or biological sex, provided that designating multiple or single occupancy bathrooms or changing facilities according to biological sex, as defined in G.S. 143-760(a)(1), (3), and (5), shall not be deemed to constitute discrimination. (b) The General Assembly declares that the regulation of discriminatory practices in places of public accommodation is properly an issue of general, statewide concern, such that this Article and other applicable provisions of the General Statutes supersede and preempt any ordinance, regulation, resolution, or policy adopted or imposed by a unit of local government or other political subdivision of the State that regulates or imposes any requirement pertaining to the regulation of discriminatory practices in places of public accommodation. "§ 143-422.12.

Places of public accommodation – defined. For purposes of this Article, places of public accommodation has the same meaning as defined in G.S. 168A-3(8), but shall exclude any private club or other establishment not, in fact, open to the public. "§ 143-422.13. Investigations; conciliations. The Human Relations Commission in the Department of Administration shall have the authority to receive, investigate, and conciliate complaints of discrimination in public accommodations.

Throughout this process, the Human Relations Commission shall use its good offices to effect an amicable resolution of the complaints of discrimination. This Article does not create, and shall not be construed to create or support, a statutory or common law private right of action, and no person may bring any civil action based upon the public policy expressed herein." PART IV. SEVERABILITY SECTION 4.

If any provision of this act or its application is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act is temporarily or permanently restrained or enjoined by judicial order, this act shall be enforced as though such restrained or enjoined provisions had not been adopted, provided that whenever such temporary or permanent restraining order or injunction is stayed, dissolved, or otherwise ceases to have effect, such provisions shall have full force and effect. PART V. EFFECTIVE DATE SECTION 5.

This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to any action taken on or after that date, to any ordinance, resolution, regulation, or policy adopted or amended on or after that date, and to any contract entered into on or after that date. The provisions of Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 of this act supersede and preempt any ordinance, resolution, regulation, or policy adopted prior to the effective date of this act that purports to regulate a subject matter preempted by this act or that violates or is not consistent with this act, and such ordinances, resolutions, regulations, or policies shall be null and void as of the effective date of this act. House Bill 2-First Edition Page 5 .