Agreement reached on NC high school sports bill, GOP lawmakers and Cooper’s office say

After months of differences between Republicans and Democrats in the legislature, a group of GOP lawmakers say they have reached an agreement with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and legislators from across the aisle on the future of legislation that would make significant changes to the association and its governance of high school sports.

GOP Sens. Todd Johnson, Vickie Sawyer and Tom McInnis, along with House Majority Leader John Bell, said Wednesday a meeting between a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers and representatives of the NCHSAA, the State Board of Education, and the office of Gov. Roy Cooper had resulted in an agreement on a path forward for House Bill 91, the controversial product of the Republican legislators’ months-long inquiry into the NCHSAA.

The GOP lawmakers did not provide details of the agreement, saying instead in a statement that it “will put the needs of our student athletes first, while allowing for a better, more transparent governing structure.”

On Thursday, the governor’s office confirmed an agreement had been reached from the meeting, which is the first known meeting on the NCHSAA’s future to involve both legislative Republicans and Democrats, and the office of the governor, a Democrat who would have the ability to veto HB 91 if it reaches his desk.

“Talks about how best to provide oversight of high school athletics without unnecessary disruption were productive, agreement was reached and we expect any legislation passed to reflect that agreement,” Cooper spokesperson Jordan Monaghan said in an email.

Asked about Wednesday’s meeting, NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker said in a statement Thursday the association was thankful for an opportunity to discuss “education-based athletics in our state,” but stopped short of saying an agreement had been reached on the bill’s future.

Instead, Tucker said there are “many hurdles to clear” before the association and State Board of Education can come to an agreement. Until that happens, the NCHSAA and its board of directors remain opposed to HB 91, Tucker said.

In its current form, HB 91 would allow the NCHSAA to continue administering high school sports, but only if it enters a memorandum of understanding with the State Board of Education. The terms of that agreement, outlined in the amended bill GOP lawmakers unveiled in August, were criticized by the NCHSAA and legislative Democrats as overly prescriptive and being rushed through the General Assembly.

On Thursday, Tucker said the NCHSAA believes there is existing legal authority for the SBE to enter a memorandum of understanding with the association.

“Once we can turn our attention to formally working with the SBOE without legislative involvement, we hope to continue the long-standing cooperation between the Association and SBOE to lead high school athletics,” Tucker said.

Differences on the bill between Republicans and Democrats in both chambers will now be negotiated by a separate panel of House and Senate lawmakers, after the House voted 98-0 Thursday to send HB 91 to a conference committee that will be tasked with reaching a compromise proposal.

The conference committee’s full membership, or when it will begin discussions on HB 91, were not immediately announced Thursday. House Speaker Tim Moore said the committee will be chaired by Bell, the House majority leader.

“We had a very productive conversation over the last couple of weeks and we had a better meeting yesterday afternoon where we all came to an agreement,” Bell told lawmakers on the House floor Thursday.

Once the conference committee has revised the bill, “we can have a bill that we bring back to you that’s unanimous in support,” he said.

Other House members appointed to the committee were GOP Reps. Phil Shepard of Onslow County and John Torbett of Gaston County, as well as Democratic Rep. Rosa Gill of Wake County.

Since being introduced in July, HB 91 has been amended and changed multiple times. The bill initially proposed dissolving the NCHSAA altogether and replacing it with a new governing body whose members would be appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, an idea that Tucker said at the time was a “full-scale attack” on the association.

Later that month, a group of GOP lawmakers consisting of Johnson, Sawyer, McInnis and Bell met privately with Tucker and other members of the NCHSAA board of directors. Progress from that meeting, which lasted more than two hours, appeared to be short-lived when the GOP legislators introduced the current version of HB 91, which elicited strong opposition from the NCHSAA.

“We’ve come to the table when we’ve been requested, we have provided all the information that has been requested, and we’re willing to work with you,” NCHSAA spokesperson James Alverson said during the Senate Education Committee’s consideration of the bill on Aug. 26. “But it’s really hard to work with people that are holding a gun to your head, for something that’s going to damage what you do for student athletes.”

On Thursday, Tucker said the NCHSAA is “appreciative of legislators sharing their concerns with us” and believes that addressing those concerns will make the association a “more effective organization for our member schools and their students.”

Going forward, the NCHSAA is looking forward to “continued work with the State Board of Education to provide the best education-based athletic experience for our students,” she said.

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