On Juneteenth, the federal holiday celebrating the moment when the last enslaved people received word of the Emancipation Proclamation, North Carolina lawmakers debated eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in state agencies.

Before a committee hearing was over Thursday — featuring a wide-ranging discussion of DEI that even touched on the “Harry Potter” series — multiple people talked about the timing of discussing House Bill 171 on Juneteenth.

Juneteenth is a holiday for the federal government, some state employees and numerous businesses, but the General Assembly was in session for Senate committees and a voting session. The House was not.

Maddie Segal of Raleigh, speaking during a part of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing set aside for public comment, brought her two young sons with her, she said, using the holiday as an opportunity to teach history.

On a day celebrating slaves being freed, she said, “I find it absolutely abhorrent that this is what’s being discussed here, especially on a day like today.” She described the bill as “government overreach dressed as neutrality.”

What the bill does

The bill, titled “Equality in State Agencies/Prohibition on DEI” would ban state agencies from promoting, supporting, funding, implementing or maintaining workplace DEI, including in hirings, dedicated staff positions and offering or requiring DEI training. There would be financial penalties for violating the law.

The bill passed the House along party lines in April, The News & Observer previously reported, with the bill sponsor, Rep. Brenden Jones, saying that “bureaucracy has grown not to serve — but to sort.” The Senate is considering a newer version of the bill.

Republicans in the House need at least one Democrat to vote with them in order to overturn a potential veto from Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. In the Senate, a vote along party lines would be enough for Republicans to override a veto.

During committee debate on Thursday, Democratic Sen. Dan Blue said if it becomes law, the bill could allow anyone in the country to lodge a complaint that could cost the state thousands of dollars every time.

Sen. Lisa Grafstein, a Wake County Democrat, proposed the financial penalties be removed. Echevarria declined.

“Follow up (comment) is to say, ‘Happy Juneteenth, everyone,’” Grafstein said.

Durham Democratic Sen. Sophia Chitlik referenced “Harry Potter” during her series of questions for a House Republican bill sponsor, and started to explain how the villain Dolores Umbridge and the Ministry of Magic investigate people in the books.

Republican Sen. Buck Newton, the committee chair, said he needed to “draw the line” on the minority party taking most of the time during the committee debate.

The bill passed the committee, which has a Republican majority, and goes next to the Senate Rules Committee, which is the final stop for a bill before it goes to the floor for a vote. Because the Senate version is different from the House bill, if it passes the Senate it has to get a final vote from the House before going to the governor’s desk to sign or veto.

Segal, speaking after Chitlik’s comments, returned to the lawmaker’s “Harry Potter” reference with a quote from the character of Umbridge.

“‘Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared,’” she said. “And they’re far worse in North Carolina.”

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